It’s not uncommon to glance down at the pavement or the floor of a shopping centre and spot traces of ancient life – ammonites and belemnites can be seen in deposits all over the world, for example. But in the Spanish town of Girona, the paving slabs of one street have offered up a very…
Tag: ecology
#FossilFriday: Ingenious camouflage found in ancient amber-preserved insects
While many species are known to have evolved specialised colouration to better blend into their environmental backgrounds, there is another important form of camouflage: incorporate your environment into your appearance! This can be seen across the animal kingdom, including in insects and their larvae, sea urchins, and snails. Now, researchers have found some of the…
Birds and others use structural trickery to produce vibrant blue colours
Peacocks, kingfishers and bluebirds are among some of the most eye-catching of birds, and in many cultures are particularly admired for their rich blue colours. We have long known that red and orange birds take their colour from their food, extracting pigments in the plant and animal matter they consume. Flamingoes are possibly the best-known example,…
In Focus: ‘Skin teeth’ stories: using shark denticles to look to their past
Our guest post this week comes from Erin Dillon, a short-term fellow at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. If you would like to contribute a guest post, please get in touch on Twitter or Facebook. What were shark communities like before humans? We know that shark populations have waned significantly over the past several centuries, but we don’t yet…
Anatomy To You 