The first reason bird legs look strangely thin is that the rest of their body is mostly covered by feathers, which can dramatically magnify its apparent size, says Julia Clarke, a paleontologist who studies bird evolution at the University of Texas at Austin. Birds’ relatively meatier thighs are tucked underneath their feathers, and most birds have scaly lower legs, Clarke says, which makes these limbs look oddly small and naked. Birds that have feathers down to their toes—such as owls and some domestic chickens—appear to have thicker shins than their bare-legged cousins.

But it’s not just a visual illusion: bird legs have some genuine differences from legs of other living animals.

New guidebook supports U.S. tribal nations in adopting rights-of-nature laws (news.mongabay.com)

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Urban evolution: How species adapt to survive in cities (knowablemagazine.org)

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Madagascar: giant tortoises have returned 600 years after they were wiped out (theconversation.com)

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A six-year-old project to return giant tortoises to the wild in Madagascar could result in thousands of the 350kg megaherbivores re-populating the island for the first time in 600 years.

The first group of Aldabra giant tortoises (Aldabrachelys gigantea) were brought in from the Seychelles in 2018, and have been reproducing on their own since. A group of ecologists explain how reintroducing this tortoise to areas degraded by cattle grazing will help restore the island’s forests, grassy woodlands and shrublands of the past. It could also help prevent devastating forest fires in future.

Endangered vulture species nesting in Ghana is rare good news about raptors (news.mongabay.com)

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🐸🐸🐸 (mander.xyz)

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Back from the dead: Tropical tree fern repurposes its dead leaves (phys.org)

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Smithsonian Scientists Discover New Species of Hedgehogs Hiding in Plain Sight (www.smithsonianmag.com)

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India snow leopards: First-ever survey puts population at 718 (www.bbc.com)

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Five new alien-faced species of millipede revealed in "remarkable" find (www.newsweek.com)

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Do tree-planting campaigns follow best practices for successful forest restoration? (www.sciencedaily.com)

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Ten Curious New Plants and Fungi Recorded in 2023 (e360.yale.edu)

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These images may provide the world's first-ever look at a live newborn great white shark (www.cbsnews.com)

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'Obelisks': Entirely New Class of Life Has Been Found in The Human Digestive System (www.sciencealert.com)

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This first-of-its kind palm plant flowers and fruits entirely underground (www.sciencenews.org)

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Ancient insect vision tuned for flight among rocks and plants underpins natural flower colour diversity (royalsocietypublishing.org)

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‘Laying claim to nature’s work’: plant patents sow fear among small growers (www.theguardian.com)

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Hermit crabs are 'wearing' our plastic rubbish (www.bbc.co.uk)

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Biodiversity

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Welcome to c/Biodiversity @ Mander.xyz!

A community about the variety of life on Earth at all levels; including plants, animals, bacteria, and fungi.

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2023-06-16: We invite our users to contribute resources for the sidebar.

2023-06-15: Looking for mods!

About

Biodiversity is a term used to describe the enormous variety of life on Earth. It can be used more specifically to refer to all of the species in one region or ecosystem. Biodiversity refers to every living thing, including plants, bacteria, animals, and humans. Scientists have estimated that there are around 8.7 million species of plants and animals in existence. However, only around 1.2 million species have been identified and described so far, most of which are insects. This means that millions of other organisms remain a complete mystery.

Over generations, all of the species that are currently alive today have evolved unique traits that make them distinct from other species. These differences are what scientists use to tell one species from another. Organisms that have evolved to be so different from one another that they can no longer reproduce with each other are considered different species. All organisms that can reproduce with each other fall into one species. Read more...

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