1Predator Eyes: Iris Insights
Stalking predators, whether mammals or birds, tend to have yellow or light-colored irises, whereas predators that run after their prey and prey species themselves tend to have dark eyes.
2. There are male-only species of clams that reproduce by having their sperm fertilize the eggs of other clam species, thereby excluding most of the egg's DNA.
3. Praying Mantises have never been an endangered species, and it has always been legal to kill them in the United States. The contrary claim has been an urban legend circulating since the 1950s.
4. The Death Camas plant is so toxic that it has only one known pollinator. A specialist mining bee visits the plant, tolerating its toxins, while others are fatally poisoned. The toxic bulb in one species, Toxicoscordion venenosum var. venenosum, is highly poisonous.
5. After 15 years of searching, a man found a species of Australian Nocturnal Ground Parrot believed to have been extinct for 100 years. His search began when he found a feather of this bird on a truck and traced it back to the farm of an old Indigenous gentleman.
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6Schomburgk's Deer: Beaten Extinction
A drunk man in Thailand beat the last living specimen of Schomburgk's deer to death, resulting in the extinction of this deer species.
7. None of the native bee species in Australia are true honey bees. Social species of native bees do produce honey, but not much, as they are relatively primitive bee species. The bees that do produce honey store it in small resinous pots, resembling bunches of grapes.
8. Almost all shells open on the right-hand side, with the exception of a few snail species whose shells open on the left. If you find a shell that opens on the left (as long as it's from a normally right-hand species), you have a rare shell, sometimes highly sought by collectors.
9. The Mangalitsa pig possesses wool resembling that of a sheep.
10. Males of some animal species (primates, reptiles, rodents, etc.) deposit a "mating plug" to seal the vagina, ensuring the survival of their sperm over those of other males. However, L. mariana spiders require secretions from both sexes to form the functional plug, allowing female spiders to choose the father of their offspring.
11Walking Wild Oats: Seed Movement
Certain species of wild oats can "walk." They have a pair of 'legs' called awns that flex and make the seeds crawl around to find an ideal place to plant themselves.
12. There are at least five species of sharks living in the Thames Estuary (which runs through London), and one of those species is venomous.
13. The Darwin's bark spider is one of the few non-mammalian species that engage in oral sex, with male spiders salivating onto the female's genitalia before, during, and after copulation.
14. Approximately 16% of wild birds have been known to hybridize with other bird species. The mallard, for example, can hybridize with at least 40 other species. This extent of hybridization calls into question the modern definition of "species."
15. The common chicken does not exist in the wild. Humans domesticated the common chicken from the "Red Junglefowl," another species of bird that inhabits South Asia. They resemble chickens, but they live in trees and can actually fly.
16Lake Tanganyika's Exclusive Fish
Lake Tanganyika, the oldest and deepest lake in Africa, harbors over 300 species of fish, with 95 percent of those species found exclusively in the lake.
17. The Sable Island Horse, a wild species found only on a low-lying sandbar in the Atlantic off the coast of Nova Scotia, was released on Sable Island in the 1700s. Over time, they have evolved into their own species, and about 500 horses currently exist, now legally protected by the Canadian government.
18. Two spade-toothed whales were beached in New Zealand in 2012, allowing researchers to observe this species alive for the first time. Previously, the species was only known from its skull remains. No one has ever seen it alive.
19. In 1960, Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley gave Prince Akihito of Japan bluegill fish to be bred in Japan for food. They escaped captivity and are now an invasive species in Japan.
20. During conservation efforts to save the critically endangered toolache wallaby, conservationists accidentally killed ten of the last surviving members of the species while attempting to capture them for a breeding program. The species is now extinct.
21Red Sea Swallow: Singular Existence
In 1984, researchers found a Red Sea Cliff Swallow in Sudan, and no second bird of this species has ever been found. Conclusive evidence is lacking to determine if it matches any other species of swallow; thus, it remains listed as its own species.
22. The "lemon ant," named for its lemon-like taste when eaten, is also known for creating a "devil's garden" by releasing its own herbicide. This herbicide creates a natural clearing on the rainforest floor where at most three plant species can survive.
23. The Western hooknose is a snake species that employs farting as a defense mechanism. Some of these snakes produce such strong farts that they can lift themselves off the ground.
24. The theory of sexual selection posits that giving gifts increases a male's chances of mating in the face of heavy competition. Some species of spiders continue to hold the gift between their legs even after copulation begins, refusing to give it up and running away with it as soon as the process is over.
25. The Hemlock Water Dropwort is the most poisonous plant in the UK. Its poison constricts the muscles, causing death by asphyxia, which also results in a rictus-like death grin. The use of this plant in Phoenician Sardinia for executions is the origin of the term "Sardonic Grin."
