Skip to main content

Popular Posts

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) manufacture bubble-nets as tools to increase prey intake

NEWS - Humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) create bubble net tools while foraging, consisting of internal tangential rings, and actively control the number of rings, their size, depth and horizontal spacing between the surrounding bubbles. These structural elements of the net increase prey intake sevenfold. Researchers have known that humpback whales create “bubble nets” for hunting, but the new report shows that the animals also manipulate them in a variety of ways to maximize catches. The behavior places humpbacks among the rare animals that make and use their own tools. “Many animals use tools to help them find food, but very few actually make or modify these tools themselves,” said Lars Bejder, director of the Marine Mammal Research Program (MMRP), University of Hawaii at Manoa. “Humpback whales in southeast Alaska create elaborate bubble nets to catch krill. They skillfully blow bubbles in patterns that form a web with internal rings. They actively control details such ...
Read more

Javan mocca or Javan slender caesar (Amanita javanica)

OPINION - Javan mocca or Javan slender caesar ( Amanita javanica ) is a mysterious fungus species and has been enigmatic since it was first reported by Boedijn in 1951 and after that no explanation or reporting of specimens is believed to be the same as expected. Boedijn (1951) described A. javanica which grew on Java island as having the characteristics covered in the Amanita genus. Corner and Bas in 1962 tried to describe Javan mocca and all species in Amanita based on specimens in Singapore. Over time some reports say that they have found A. javanica specimens in other Southeast Asia including also China, Japan, India and Nepal. But there is no definitive knowledge and many doubt whether the specimen is the same as described by Boedijn (1951). I was fortunate to have seen this species one afternoon and soon I took out a camera for some shots. In fact, I've only met this mushroom species once. Javan mocca is an endangered species and I have never seen in my experience in...
Read more

Four species of Homidia (Collembola, Entomobryidae) with smooth post-labial chaetae and DNA barcoding

NEWS - Researchers have established four new species from Guangxi Zhuang, China: the long antenna springtail ( Homidia longiantenna ), the Guangxi springtail ( Homidia guangxiensis ), the Huaping springtail ( Homidia huapingensis ) and the oligoseta springtail ( Homidia oligoseta ), into a genus that previously had 77 species described worldwide. Key characters of the genus include coloration pattern, body chaetotaxia, chaetae of the labial base, claw structure and tooth spines. Post-labial chaetae are rarely mentioned in species descriptions as they are usually indistinguishable from the normal ciliate chaetae present in most species, except for a few that are widened. Before this study, smooth post-labial chaetae had not been reported. The researchers describe four new species, of which one species has slightly widened post-labial chaetae, two species have smooth post-labial chaetae and one species has neither widened nor smooth post-labial chaetae. H. longiantenna is named for its ...
Read more