Considered one of the world’s smallest butterflies and the tiniest in North America, the Western pygmy-blue (Brephidium exilis) has a wingspan between 1.2 and 2 centimeters and can easily rest on a fingernail. Other butterflies under the Polyommatinae subfamily, also known as blues or gossamer-winged butterflies, may be smaller. Some researchers even argue that some species of moth are even tinier.But despite the Western pygmy blue’s teeny size, it is resilient and can thrive in areas not no ...read more
Inbreeding is not just something that happens among animals held in captivity. It can also happen to endangered populations in the wild, as is the case with the highly threatened Florida panther. Only about 200 live in the wild, a vanishingly narrow gene pool.As a result, the panthers often suffer from misshapen tails, heart defects, undescended testicles and joint disease.According to a new study, endangered panthers share the ailment of joint disease with dire wolves (Aenocyon dirus) and sabre ...read more
We know that in addition to making great companions, dogs assist people in various ways. Herding, bomb/drug detection and working as service dogs are just a few examples. Dogs provide helpful assistance you may not know about in several other ways. How Do Dogs Help Humans?With an innate ability to adapt and learn, dogs have taken on diverse tasks that range from safeguarding our lives on beaches to alerting us to impending health crises. These extraordinary canines have not only secured a s ...read more
Paleontologists in Thailand recently unveiled the discovery of a new dinosaur, Minimocursor phunoiensis, or “smallest runner” in Latin. The small, bipedal plant-eater likely ran in herds and occupied a lower rung on its local food chain. It would have dodged much larger predators, including the metriacanthosauridae theropods, predecessors to Tyrannosaurus Rex.The skeleton is one of the best-preserved ever recovered from Southeast Asia, where it was found in the Kalasin province in northeaste ...read more
A 46,000-year-old gopher hole in Siberia served as a time capsule for some very old plant material and a small nematode roundworm, which was later revived, according to a new study.Researchers from the Soil Cryology Lab in Russia extracted the contents of the hole from Duvanny Yar outcrop in Siberia, a sheer wall of prehistoric sediments. Ancient rodents had dug the burrow, about 10 inches wide, during the Last Ice Age, and cold temperatures had since frozen it into permafrost that never thaws.T ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine
