The 6 Most Hilarious Things We Learned about Animals in 2024

The 6 funniest things we learned about animals in 2024

Who Andrea Thompson

Science has the ability to inspire fear, improve our lives, and sometimes make us laugh. Next, American scientific rounded up some of the things we learned about animals this year that made us laugh and brighten our days a little.

Double Asses

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Here is “Franken-Jelly”. At first, researchers at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass., thought it was a single “sea nut.” jelly comb (Mnemiopsis leidyi)—with two separate anuses—was two individuals who met after being injured.

When one side of the combined entity was pushed, both the associated bodies responded, suggesting that the two nervous systems had become one. The food was divided between the two digestive tubes. “The extent and speed of this integration is quite impressive,” says Steven Haddock, a marine biologist who studies ctenophores (jellyfish-like marine animals) at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.

Goofy Runners

Birds are not the most elegant looking runners. That is, unlike humans, birds always keep one foot on the ground, a technique called “running on the ground”. It may sound a little silly, but computer modeling shows that this is the most efficient way for birds to run given their anatomy: they have highly elastic tendons in their legs, and their naturally hunched posture keeps their hips and knees tucked in. the body

As humans, if we try to run in a crouched position, we run instinctively (as opposed to the usual way of running where we lift our feet, the so-called aerial running method). Try it!

Skinny legs

Not only do birds look silly when they run, but many of them are also very funny hop on their skinny little legs. Why do they have such strange thin appendages to support their bodies?

Some are just a matter of appearance. The modest feathers that cover the body make the bare legs look very slender in comparison. But evolution also comes into play: as birds evolved to fly, changes in bone and muscle structure fixed the leg muscles in the thighs, which are kept tucked away under the feathers. The lower legs, on the other hand, have very thin tendons. It’s something to think about the next time a bird sings outside your window.

loud

Species in the animal kingdom use all kinds of strategies to attract a mate: attractive pheromones, spectacular plumage, fierce battles with rivals. transparent, a fish the size of a grain of rice Danielle’s brain he has made the choice to scream.

But that scream is actually a love song—like a short chirp or a raucous whine to human ears above water—that registers at 140 decibels underwater. That’s as loud as a firecracker. It is possible that the large volume signals to the females that the toned male has a lot of energy and is therefore a suitable potential mate.

Float like a butterfly, slap like a bee

Not to be confused with a Japanese bee. At least not if you’re an ant.

To repel invading hives, honeybees generally use their stingers, stingers, and wings to create air currents. But Japanese bees have another defense strategy: they literally slap the ant with their wings. High-speed camera footage reveals that as an ant approaches, the bee tilts its body towards the invader and then flaps its wings as it rotates its body. Then: kapow!

Watching this “wing-slapping” in action “reminds you of someone hitting the golf ball perfectly,” says Arizona State University biologist Gro Amdam. “That’s really beautiful.”