Discovery Science 🧬

Galitrofey: Live fireworks from a depth of 1.5 km The depths of the ocean are a pretty bleak place. Eternal cold, eternal darkness and evil toothy creatures that are ready to jump out of this darkness at any second do not add positive emotions to the local residents. And yet in this eternal darkness there is a small spark of joy - a firework jellyfish! Scientists absolutely do not understand why an animal living in a world without the sun painted itself in such bright colors. Here you have both purple and gold, and her tentacles generally look like sparks flying in all directions. It’s even somehow a pity that living jellies live at a depth of as much as 1.5 kilometers and never rise higher. However, when calm, the jellyfish is transparent, but when disturbed or threatened, it emits bright bioluminescent colors. The light show is created by specialized cells called photocytes. But local creatures (at least those with eyes) can admire them as much as they like. The main thing is not to get too close, because even underwater fireworks can burn you. The tentacles of galitref are dotted with stinging cells over their entire area - living capsules with mini-harpoons inside and with a hair on the surface. And if something inside touches a hair, the cell will immediately shoot a harpoon with paralytic poison. For humans, such a dose of toxin is not dangerous and will only cause short-term pain. But if you are a fish the size of a kilogram, it will fry you until it seems too small. But the task of the stinging cells is not so much protection as the production of food, because they also respond to plankton, which the jellyfish can then conveniently place in its branched stomach and leave to be digested. But other aspects of the life of a jellyfish are a mystery, shrouded in darkness. The festive jelly has hidden too deeply from us. And any attempts to grow it on the surface are doomed to failure - low pressure kills it in a matter of hours. So galitreph remains a rare delight for the eyes of fish, which are unable to appreciate its beauty, and for several hundred hydrobiologists who work on underwater drones and scientific submarines. Author: Yaroslav Ilyin 🏀 Hit the hoop and get an NFT gift — https://t.me/BasketbolX_bot

In 1970, an expedition of Soviet scientists reached the Yakut river Boryolekh. And she discovered that hundreds of meters of the shore were littered with tusks and skulls sticking straight out of the sand. So they found the largest cemetery of ancient giants on the planet. Excavations here lasted almost 40 years, and the description of the bones will take decades. And there is one big secret hovering over this whole place. Why did so many animals die in one place? The Börelökh cemetery is located on the banks of the river of the same name, so she became the main suspect. Animals came to the banks or swampy oxbow lakes to feed on the lush (by tundra standards, of course) vegetation. But springs with warm water, which flooded the permafrost, made the soil unreliable. The ground could not support the weight of the mammoths, and they sank into the wet soil or fell from the crumbling banks into the river. But lighter animals passed here without any problems. But in 2024, a team of paleontologists from three institutes carried out 88 measurements using new techniques and modern equipment. The findings were unexpected: the peaks of activity at the camp correspond to the peaks of active burial of mammoths. This means that this cemetery is the work of human hands. For about 1000 years, a certain tribe of hunters came here to hunt mammoths. The meat and skins were cut off, and the remains were thrown into an oxbow lake located near the river bed. But not for the purpose of recycling. In warm and calm water, connective tissues quickly rotted, and bones with tusks could be removed without much effort. After which they were used for construction, creating weapons and carving bones. Just imagine, in 1000 years we have gone from steel swords and windmills to hypersonic missiles and fast neutron nuclear reactors. And our distant ancestors wandered around the same region for 1000 years and regularly returned to the same camp in order to obtain mammoth meat and bones. It is likely that humanity will never return to this level of stability. 🏀 Hit the hoop and get an NFT gift — https://t.me/BasketbolX_bot

Did you know that hawks and owls hate each other? Moreover, this conflict did not arise yesterday. 60 million years ago, owls were the highest birds of prey. Some of them were as tall as a ten-year-old child! But 20 million years later falcon-like animals appeared. And after another 6 million years - hawk-shaped. Both were, on average, larger and less finicky. Thus began a struggle, the rules of which are very simple: either you are eaten, or you are eaten. But why don't we see epic battles above our heads? But because birds are not idiots and know that a fierce fight between two predators almost always ends badly for both sides. Therefore, they do not compete directly, and owls are much inferior in this competition. After all, they were once daytime predators, but it was competition that forced them into the night. But the owls do not give up, and take revenge on their enemies on the sly. The night predators keep watch while the daytime ones fly out to hunt, and in the most brazen manner they occupy someone else’s nest. A pair of birds destroys the clutch and waits for the parents to return so that together they can arrange a dark one for them. And it also happens that owls deal with already grown chicks. Under the cover of night, while everyone is sleeping, they simply throw out the children sleeping on the edge of the house. Are all owls and hawks at odds with each other? Not really. For example, polar owls moved to live away from the war to the north, where their opponents are not found. Some representatives of hawks also do not participate in the showdown, just like vultures: these scavengers do not care at all about the battle, they feast on the bones. 🏀 Hit the hoop and get an NFT gift — https://t.me/BasketbolX_bot

ere not normal. Instead of spending resources on growth and development, each feeding becomes another supply for hungry days. So in a couple of months the albatross chick reaches the size of a human child - from 10 to 16 kg! Madagascar crested cuckoo - artist chick All children have a craving for the visual arts. Moreover, creative impulses are often expressed not in the most standard places: on the wallpaper, sofa or parts of the body. So, the Madagascar cuckoo chicks decided to paint their mouths. Yes, yes, right inside. This is not just a random daub. Take a closer look: white circles with dots inside are the eyes, the lower part is a one-to-one open beak. In fact, there is another mouth drawn inside the gaping mouth! But that's not all. If you turn off the light, you will find that the white spots glow. Why is this necessary? The fact is that Madagascar cuckoos are excellent parents. They obtain food for their chicks day and night. So, if mom or dad went hunting during the night shift, the chick’s decorated mouth will indicate exactly where to put the tasty treat. Coot - child of the underworld Coot chicks look like fluffy balls straight from the underworld. With a jet black body and bright red bald head, this is one of the most eccentric outfits among the chicks. You can watch the weirdos with your own eyes - these birds are found in almost all ponds in Russia. Why are the chicks colored so strangely? Considering their parents are dressed in modest black and white outfits? There are several hypotheses. Firstly, this makes it easier for parents to monitor the brood. Among the monochromatic vegetation of gray-brown-crimson color, bright firebrands are noticeable from afar. The second observation is more interesting. The brighter the chick's head, the more its parents love it. The intensity of the color depends on when the chick hatched: the later the egg was laid, the brighter the plumage of the hatched chick will be. This means that, compared to other brothers and sisters, especially decorated babies will be more vulnerable and less developed. To ensure that the younger chicks do not lag behind the older ones in growth, the parents pay special attention to them: they feed them more often, warm them and hide them. Author: Elizaveta Isaeva 🏀 Hit the hoop and get an NFT gift — https://t.me/BasketbolX_bot

Top 5 weirdest chicks in the world. Their appearance shocks even biologists Newborn babies seem so cute! But not in birds. Their offspring are capable of taking on such creepy and strange forms that it’s amazing! We talk about five species of birds whose chicks shock even biologists. Jacobin hummingbird - caterpillar chick Hummingbirds, as you know, are tiny birds. Their chicks are even smaller, about the size of a fingernail. But baby Jacobin hummingbirds can scare off any predator with just one look. How? Just look at them, all questions will disappear by themselves. It's not the appearance itself that scares meat-eaters. Unlike most newborn hummingbirds, which are born naked and defenseless, Jacobin chicks are covered with thick, long, buffy-brown down. In size, shape and color, they are almost indistinguishable from caterpillars from the Megalopygidae family that live in the same region. Why would a bird pretend to be an insect? The fact is that one touch to the larva is enough to cause irritation and itching. And if you swallow it, you will get guaranteed indigestion with possible death. So most predators are afraid to even look at this caterpillar, let alone eat it! Scientifically, this type of deception is called Batesian mimicry. It is a defense mechanism in which a harmless organism imitates a dangerous or poisonous species to ward off enemies. Toucan - embryo chick Toucan chicks are among the most defenseless in the world when they are born. They are so underdeveloped that they open their eyes only a month after birth. And they fledge only at 6-8 weeks of life. For the entire two months, the babies sit in the nest and are completely dependent on their parents. Their diet is special - meat. Adult toucans feed exclusively on fruits, while chicks spend the first weeks of life on a protein diet of small vertebrates and insects. This way the young body will quickly get stronger and grow. Another difference between adult birds and their offspring is the beak. In newborns, the lower part is wider and longer than the upper. Thanks to this design, the chirp works like a net, helping the chick to catch food thrown by its parents without missing a beat. Albatross - heroic child Albatross chicks are little basket sons from the world of birds. Every baby is precious for a couple. One single egg is incubated for 3 months, and the babies remain in the nest for up to 9 months. This is the longest childhood period of any bird in the world! The irony is that birds live in places where you want to get away as quickly as possible. Bare rocks near the Arctic Circle are not the best location for a kindergarten. It is physically impossible to feed the chicks every day here - the fishing grounds are located kilometers from the nesting sites. That’s why parents visit their child every few days, or even weeks. So that during the absence of mom and dad the child does not die of hunger, the chick’s body accumulates fat as if it w

ut the armadillos do not disclose the details of their personal lives. Loners in life, they most likely intersect with the opposite sex solely out of necessity. The female gives birth to a single cub after 4 months of pregnancy. And after 75 days the baby will become completely independent. And that's all we know so far. But if new armadillos continue to appear, it means that under the hard shell there is still a soft heart that can conquer the ladies and give someone love. Author: Egor Churakov Editor: Elizaveta Isaeva 🏀 Hit the hoop and get an NFT gift — https://t.me/BasketbolX_bot

Three-banded Armadillo: It can cause panic even in pumas and jaguars. Active defense mechanism Nothing protects against unwanted bites better than a thick layer of armor on the butt. And on the back, and on the head would also be nice. The three-belted battleship cut through this chip. Moreover, he learned to defend himself in such a way that the most terrible predators on the continent are afraid of him! The environment is very stimulating for such tricks. Around the tiny armadillo are the arid scrub plains, woodlands and semi-deserts of South America, located in the very heart of the continent. You can’t hide in a thicket, you can’t escape on your own four feet. The brave animal decides to withstand the blow of any predator. An armadillo cannot give an epic fight - the animal easily fits in your hand. Instead, it takes its toll by starvation and the effect of surprise. At the sight of an enemy, the three-banded armadillo begins to identify itself as an ideal figure in the eyes of a mathematician - a ball. This is the only type of armadillo that can curl up completely and form an all-round defense. Other armored insectivores have too many plates that make up their protective carapace. They cannot bend and unbend so plastically purely physically. In this position, behind a keratin shell several centimeters thick, all vulnerable spots are covered: the stomach, muzzle, eyes, paws. Chopping a smooth armored ball for a kilogram of meat and bones is a long, laborious and thankless undertaking. The armadillo can only wait until the predator gets tired of this useless leisure time. In addition to passive protection, our hero also invented active protection. It's called "fright slash". The animal does not immediately curl up when it sees a predator. He cunningly waits for the right moment. As soon as the enemy is right in front of his nose, the armadillo jumps up with a hiss and curls up into a ball. Such tricks scare even the toughest predators in America: pumas and jaguars! Their instincts scream at them: “This is something incomprehensible! We have to cut our claws!” and the beast retreats in horror, never realizing what happened. Meanwhile, the armadillo turns around and begins his daily routine. Even every day - the animal gets out into the world under the cover of darkness. In their forays, armadillos make destructive raids on termite megacities and anthills. Their arrival is like a local end of the world - the walls will collapse from the blows of powerful claws, thousands of insects will perish in their mouths. They will be pulled away by a giant sticky tongue 15 cm long. This is more than half the body length of the entire armadillo! When the sun rises, the armadillo goes underground. It does not dig a den for itself; it inhabits the abandoned holes of other animals. Although, if he really needs it, he can build a small hole, the tools allow him. The baby's paws have a stunning manicure - the claws are up to 6 cm long! B