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☆ These Amphibians Have a Taste for Their Mom’s Skin
  + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Sofia Quaglia | ) www.nytimes.com   time to read: +1 min
When born, baby caecilians — legless amphibians that look like a mash-up of a snake and a worm — use their tiny hook-shaped teeth to scrape off their mother’s skin and feast. The flakes are dead but extra fatty and nutrient-rich, and within three months the infant squirmers have grown into independent teenagers. According to a study published in May, skin-feeding allows mothers to pass on their unique microbiomes and possibly inoculate their offspring’s immune systems — the first known instance of microbiome transmission among amphibians. “It’s a remarkably weird thing,” said David Blackburn, the curator of herpetology at the Florida Museum and author of the study. Very few amphibians are known to care for their children — most frog and salamander species tend to lay their eggs and leave once they hatch — but caecilians have evolved sophisticated parenting strategies.
Persons: ”, David Blackburn Organizations: Florida Museum
☆ This Gecko’s Camouflage Is So Good, It Masqueraded as Another Species
  + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Sofia Quaglia | ) www.nytimes.com   time to read: +1 min
As night falls on the northern forests of Madagascar, trees come alive. What appears to be a piece of bark peels off a tree trunk, and starts slowly crawling along a branch. It’s actually Uroplatus garamaso, a newly identified species of leaf-tailed gecko. This animal is a dazzling camouflager — better than the chameleon — but it’s long been hiding in plain sight. The 22 species of leaf-tailed geckoes that are unique to Madagascar can be split into two categories: those who’ve evolved to look uncannily like leaves, and those who imitate tree bark.
Persons: ”, Mark D, Scherz Organizations: of Locations: Madagascar, It’s, of Denmark
☆ Some Squirmy Stowaways Got to the Arctic. And They Like It There.
  + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Sofia Quaglia | ) www.nytimes.com   time to read: +1 min
Worms are on the move, and people are nervous. That’s because they’re taking over territory in the Far North that’s been wormless since the last ice age. Scientists say the expansion will inevitably change northern ecosystems, with implications for the whole planet, in ways we don’t fully understand and probably can’t undo. Earthworms actively contribute to soil health by munching on decaying organic matter and pooping out nutrient-rich fertilizer. But that means worms also have the potential to upend the natural balance of ecosystems in Arctic and sub-Arctic zones.
Persons: ”, Jonatan Klaminder Organizations: Umea University Locations: Worms, Sweden
☆ This ‘Alien’ Is Missing Something Found in Every Other Male Beetle
  + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( Sofia Quaglia | ) www.nytimes.com   time to read: +1 min
Wings consume a lot of energy, so throughout evolutionary history, many insect species have independently lost the ability to fly. But there are more than a half-million known beetle species, and until now, all have had at least some form of hard forewing elytra. Dr. Ferreira also connected the species to a poorly understood evolutionary trend he and others have studied called paedomorphosis. In this phenomenon, adult females of some beetle species retain a few of their juvenile features, look more like larvae and sometimes even lose their wings. The winglessness of the male Xenomorphon baranowskii resembles what has been found in females of those beetle species.
Persons: ”, Michael Ivie, Ferreira Organizations: Montana State University, Wings
☆ Fruitarian Frogs May Be Doing Flowers a Favor
  + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Sofia Quaglia | ) www.nytimes.com   time to read: +1 min
On warm evenings near Rio de Janeiro, you might find milk fruit trees covered in brownish-orange frogs. While many frogs eat insects, the tree frog species Xenohyla truncata has a taste for the pulp of bulbous fruits and the nectar in the tree’s flowers. As they seek that nectar, the frogs dunk their entire bodies into the plant’s flowers, only their butts sticking out. Then they hop off, potentially transporting the pollen from their previous stop at the tropical buffet into the next milk fruit flower they encounter. In other words, the frogs may disperse the plant’s seeds and pollinate its flowers — which would be the first time this has been seen in an amphibian.
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