Discovery Science 🧬

Hoatzin: Anatomy of a Dinosaur. This bird is closest to the terrible lizards in structure and behavior When I look at the hoatzin, I get a strange feeling. I keep thinking I see a scaly raptor with a thin layer of feathers over it for camouflage. But another moment will pass, and he will throw them off to hiss in a reptilian manner, announcing the onset of a new era of dinosaurs. And there really is something in this, because the hoatzin is the most dinosaur-like bird of all living creatures! Those who read us on a regular basis are already aware that birds are real dinosaurs, and not their descendants, as previously thought. They are still full of features and traits that were widespread among the terrible lizards of the Mesozoic. But they still lost some features. For example, in the process of specialization of wings, they abandoned the claws on the front paws, and the ability of dinosaurs to feed on leaves, fermenting them in their gastrointestinal tract, sank into oblivion along with sauropods - huge and clumsy herbivorous dinosaurs. And the hoatzin is the only one that has retained both of these features, at least in part. Hoatzin chicks are unusually dexterous and agile by bird standards. Almost immediately after birth, they are able to crawl along the branches of their native tree and even escape from danger by... jumping into the water! After which they successfully swim to the shore and return to their nest again - and all thanks to the claws on their paws, which fall off as they grow up. But along with its claws, the hoatzin also retained many much more primitive features. Its keel is poorly developed, the muscles of the wings work poorly, and the skull is heavier and more massive than that of other flying birds. Therefore, all day long he sits in the crown of trees and feeds on their leaves, the fermentation of which takes a lot of strength and energy of the body. All this, together with its strange appearance, gives the hoatzin the image of a bird that is just a few steps away from the ancient dinosaurs. But this is not true, we were misled. The hoatzin is certainly an ancient and unique bird, whose evolutionary branch split off from the general bird lineage approximately 66 million years ago. And yet it is included in the subclass of new palate birds, which arose not so long ago, at the very end of the Cretaceous period. The real oldies are ancient palatine (read correctly!) birds that separated from the common branch 70-120 million years ago. And, despite their antiquity, all these ostriches, emus and tinamous are much less like dinosaurs than hoatzins. But this is not surprising, because all the “dinosaur” features of the hoatzins are a remake. Their keel and muscles have degraded to give way to a huge crop that occupies a large part of the chest. And following them, the skull also changed - after all, it should be light only if you fly all day long. And even claws - the main advantage of hoatzins - are no

False Vampire : Mega Bat. It doesn't drink blood, it catches and eats whole birds! The false vampire has a very bad reputation. Residents of South America have long considered it a dangerous bloodsucker that should be destroyed at every opportunity. And I can understand them: I, too, am scared by a bat the size of a crow and with fangs almost 3 centimeters long. But everything is much simpler. A false vampire does not drink blood; it eats its prey whole. After all, the false vampire, aka the big leaf-nosed bat, is not just another creepy bat, it’s a high-flying bird. He does not hunt insects, like the vast majority of meat-eating mice, and is not even particularly interested in mice and lizards. Its diet consists almost entirely of pigeons, parrots, cuckoos, flycatchers and many other small birds. And, of course, from smaller caliber bats. Like most bats, it cannot compare in speed and agility with birds - they are simply more advanced. But he takes his toll with his ingenuity and developed senses. The leaf bat hunts exclusively under the canopy of tropical forests and exclusively at night. In the dark, birds cannot develop high speed, while the bat itself easily maneuvers, noticing obstacles using echolocation and refined hearing. The same ability helps him find small bats - he detects small things by their calls. And so he hunts them openly - his large, up to a meter in span, and powerful wings allow the false vampire to easily catch up and destroy real vampires, as well as any other bats. In addition, the false vampire has an extremely rare feature for flying creatures: a good sense of smell. For ordinary birds and bats this ability is almost useless (go and smell something in the sky!), but not for the leaf bat. Using his sense of smell, he tracks down large ani - foul-smelling birds that like to gather in large flocks and create a fragrant scent throughout the entire area. And thanks to his sense of smell, our hero senses them hundreds of meters away from the place where he spends the night. Like some other birds that emit strong scents. The handsome predators live up to 5 years and are still widespread throughout northern South America. This is the largest species of bat in the Americas, but they also often suffer from local snakes, owls and cats. Author: Yaroslav Ilyin 🏀 Hit the hoop and get an NFT gift — https://t.me/BasketbolX_bot

It happened! Six months of rendering and editing. We have finally made our 4th original cartoon. This is a story about a water scorpion. His hardcore survival in the pond and all the ins and outs of his personal life. + The most powerful clip at the end. Enjoy watching! Ave the Honey Badger 🏀 Hit the hoop and get an NFT gift — https://t.me/BasketbolX_bot

We're preparing the premiere! Exactly at 20.00 Moscow time we will release a new cartoon. And if you saw this post after 20.00, then the cartoon has already been released and come to our group to watch it! For now, you can guess who our new animation will be about. Hint in the video! 🏀 Hit the hoop and get an NFT gift — https://t.me/BasketbolX_bot

: the next time a person approached, the group that listened to the warning recording returned to the nest twice as fast as usual! Although the man did nothing wrong, he was “slandered” by the birds from the column! Everyday observations only confirm the facts. There are a lot of stories on the Internet on this topic. There are ridiculous ones: “I once accidentally threw a stick at a crow, it came back and dropped a dead toad on my head!” There are downright frightening ones: in 2023, crows attacked 10 people in 20 minutes in Singapore! They pulled the hair and pecked right at the crown, protecting the nest! We figured out how and why crows can attack you. Now let's talk about what to do about it. Will you really have to endure a vendetta for many years before they leave you alone? And this is where the same intelligence and ingenuity of birds come to the rescue. Birds remember not only evil, but also good. There are no less stories about friendship with crows than about enmity. One of the most sensational ones recently is a duet between a two-year-old boy and a street crow. People took the emaciated crow home. They fed them, came out and released them. But the bird did not want to fly far. She took up residence in the family's backyard. She spends almost all her time with a little boy named Otto. Together they play and communicate, so to speak. Only a child allows the bird to stroke itself. Many people feed birds on a walk or even on their own window. In return, the birds happily spend time with humans, and some even bring gifts! And one Reddit user raved about how a whole flock of crows saved her life. The birds kept her and her dog safe from coyotes. Of course, there is no confirmation of these stories, except for a couple of photographs, but there is definitely no need to doubt them. Maybe corvids lack human concepts of honor and justice. But what they do have is developed brains and the concept of mutual assistance, which have helped their species live and thrive to this day. Author: Anna Belkina Editor: Elizaveta Isaeva 🏀 Hit the hoop and get an NFT gift — https://t.me/BasketbolX_bot

Never cross a crow's path. She will take revenge all her life! And he will tell his friends! You've probably heard at least a couple of stories about the memory of crows. For example, from your neighbor, whose dog had birds plucking fur from his tail for fun for a whole year. Or from the neighboring kids who arranged a profitable exchange with the birds: two nuts for the price of a beautiful sparkle. Corvids are damn smart and social. Rooks can easily solve puzzles for three-year-olds. Magpies hold a “funeral” for dead members of their group. There is nothing to say about ordinary gray crows: according to scientists who have studied these birds down to the last feather, the birds are not inferior in intelligence to children aged five, or even seven! The problem is that birds can direct their entire brilliant mind against a person if you cross their path. Like us, crows are a super sociable species. They give each other names, social roles and are supposed to even exchange simple information. So they find the most delicious garbage dumps and warn each other about the danger. More places for food means more chances for the chicks to quickly fledge and occupy their territory. More watchful eyes means fewer accidents for the population. This is what communication is for. You must now also definitely want to make acquaintance with Karkusha from your yard. But take your time: one wrong move and you can easily fall out of favor. If you scare away a flock or, God forbid, disturb a chick, the crows will remember your face, figure, and clothes! Having noticed the enemy, the birds happily scold the offender, make insidious attacks on the sly and throw white “bombs” at him. As experiments show, crows can continue to gloat for a long time: from a month to two and a half years, or even until the end of their lives. And yes, they can also confuse you with another similar person, beware. Moreover, the crows will pass this information on to their friends. If you offend one bird, you offend the whole flock. Even those birds with whom you personally have not spoiled relations will treat you with contempt. With the same zeal, jackdaws stand up to protect their home and relatives. They recognize people by sight and even follow the direction of the predator's gaze. Scientists conducted an experiment: they were divided into two groups. One was ringing the chicks. That is, she carried out manipulations with baby jackdaws. The second one was approaching the nest, but no more. “Evil” biologists wore some masks, “neutral” ones - others. As a result: seeing the scientist in the “evil” mask, the parents hastily returned to the brood. Another experiment shows that jackdaws share information about unreliable elements with each other. Scientists divided 34 flocks into two groups. When a person approached, one was given a recording of the warning cries of its relatives, and the other was given the usual calls that jackdaws use when communicating. As a result

r own kind. They don’t take risks in vain: mosquito fish understand perfectly well that since they love to snack on someone else’s eggs, someone else will definitely bite on their own. Females carry the eggs within themselves for a little less than a month, after which they immediately give birth to independent fry. That is, Gambusia is a viviparous fish! For the Black Sea region, as for many other countries, the introduction of mosquito fish into the local fauna was quite successful. At least no one died because of them. But in Australia, things are much worse with these fish. Local reservoirs were also densely populated with mosquito larvae, and malaria also haunted people, but the balance there turned out to be very fragile. Yes, mosquito fish began to exterminate the larvae, but they quickly included caviar of endemic fish, frogs and fry in the list of main dishes. Do you remember that mosquito fish themselves are extremely adaptable survivors? So, they tried everything to get them out! They even jammed it with electricity - so they turned out to be resistant to this! Therefore, in Australia, mosquito fish did not become a solution to the problem, but on the contrary, they created new problems. - - - - - We have a huge group, which is 11 years old and there are many zoologists who write tons of text every day from the field in which they are specialists. Due to VK’s failed policy towards authors, all this, unfortunately, rests only on rare advertising and your support. You can support the stability of our nervous system with a minimum subscription of 100 rubles per month. You can request support directly through the button in this post. Thank you! 🏀 Hit the hoop and get an NFT gift — https://t.me/BasketbolX_bot

Gambusia: The fish that defeated malaria in Russia and turned Sochi into a resort Today people from all over the world come to relax in Sochi. Previously, even the most desperate people were afraid to go there. This is because local attractions on the Black Sea included malaria, swamps and huge swarms of mosquitoes. That's it, I came for a tan and left with a temperature of 40°! Everything changed thanks to the efforts of the Soviet people and one tiny fish. Gambusia is the story of how a small fish defeated malaria, saved many lives and finally fulfilled the dream of an entire country about a warm resort. The genus Gambusia has about 40 species, but they are all small and inconspicuous. The female grows to only 7 centimeters, and the male even less. No bright veil fins, no neon glow, nothing. But you know what? Not all superheroes wear capes! For a long time, the south of our country was a promising place except for the exile of unreliable persons. No resorts or pebble beaches - just dampness, swamps, wilds and clouds of biting insects that carried all sorts of diseases. In particular, deadly malaria - yes, it is not only in Africa, we also had it before. And not as an exotic disease, it was widespread: according to various estimates, the number of cases varied from 40 to 60%. And in some areas the number of cases reached 90%. The Soviet government, once at the helm, decided to correct the situation. And cure people, and develop a promising piece of land. The swamps were drained using drainage canals and trees, and the wilds were cleared. There are mosquitoes left. And malaria. Then scientists decided to bring mosquito fish to the country. The choice of these small fish was not accidental. In their homeland, America, mosquito fish are called mosquito fish - for their great love for eating mosquito larvae. Of course, if you remove the carriers, that is, the blood-sucking parasites, then there will be no malaria. The results exceeded all expectations: the first mosquito fish were released into water bodies in 1925, and by 1960 the USSR announced the complete eradication of the disease in the country. So, in 35 years, the fish ate all the larvae and the once ruinous swamps turned into a resort! This is because mosquito fish are extremely voracious creatures. During the day they eat several hundred mosquito larvae, after which they polish off a hearty lunch with the eggs of small fish and other insects. But that’s not the only reason they took root in the Black Sea reservoirs. Gambusia lives and reproduces in conditions under which another fish would float upside down in a day! Gambusias tolerate a wide range of temperatures - from +43°C to 0°C. They spend the winter quietly under a layer of ice several centimeters thick! They don’t mind muddy, dirty water either - the fish survive well in swampy lakes with stagnant water and a lot of algae. As soon as the water warms up to +18°C, the fish will immediately begin to make thei

guided by her behavior in tense situations. The matriarch's status is based on predictability, accumulated social experience and benefits for the entire group. The Queen knows best where to get more food, how to deal with a pack of stray dogs and how to take care of kittens. The fewer conflicts and traumas, the higher the chances of maintaining your territory and raising offspring. Actually, this is the main goal of feline cohabitation. Raise kittens, protect the den and stay well fed. What about the rest of the group? Unlike the hierarchy of wolves and dogs, where each member of the pack has a specific role, the task of cats is to tolerate each other in the same territory. That's enough! They come to the aid of their relatives only in times of urgent need - in the spring, at the height of the season of love. It often happens that March Madness hits everyone in a group at the same time. This means that one fine day a cozy den turns into a bustling kindergarten. But the kittens are looked after not by one female, but by the whole group, which increases the survival rate of the cubs significantly. Cats feed other people's babies, lick them, and protect the den from potential threats. The kittens are too vulnerable and the territory is too valuable to defend alone. But a flock of angry mothers is quite capable of this. However, one cannot expect total altruism from members of the cat group. For example, they get food exclusively alone. Representatives of one flock tolerate members of the group at “their” food source, but if a cat has gotten a mouse somewhere, it will not share it with the others. Yes, and street cats do not hunt in packs - in the matter of food, every man is for himself. Where are the cats in this whole story? Contrary to the popular idea of ​​the “main cat of the area,” males are not included in the structure of street cat groups. They do not participate in raising kittens, do not guard the den: their presence in a cat flock, as a rule, is limited only to a short breeding period. When females come into heat, suitors come to their territory, fight for the right to become a father, and after a successful or not so successful wedding they move on, looking for a new family. Sometimes the cat may stay, butThis still won’t make him a member of the group. Author: Arina Taran Editor: Elizaveta Isaeva 🏀 Hit the hoop and get an NFT gift — https://t.me/BasketbolX_bot