Thoughts on interesting nature
Are dragons real creatures?
There are a lot of references to dragons throughout history, but are dragons real? These creatures are probably based on real, living dinosaurs that are described correctly, or they have been described with the combined features of several dinosaurs, or they may be based on a real dinosaur with additional exaggerations. Written evidence from Europe and China…
Changes, what changes?
Insect fossils look very much the same as modern living insects. Why is that?
Insect fossils appear not to have changed over millions of years.
How come, for example the cockroach…
Obligate mutualism
Where two different things cannot survive without each other.
Ficus macrophylla, commonly known as the Moreton Bay Fig, comes from Australia and has an obligate mutualism with fig wasps.
This means that the figs are only pollinated by fig wasps, and fig wasps can only reproduce in fig flowers…
Painful child-birth for humans but mostly not for animals
Animals seem to give birth to their young quickly and in a relative easy manner – it’s only a painful child-birth when things go wrong. But for human mothers why is childbirth so painful? Women have had to endure pain at child-birth throughout history. Why do human mothers have to suffer so much more than female animals?…
American Golden Plover
A first class navigator.
The young of the American Golden Plover fly 3000 miles from Alaska across the Pacific ocean to the island of Hawaii – without their parents to guide them!
Is that by designed, or trial and error…
The Grunion fish
A fish that knows the Tide Tables:
The Grunion fish of Californian beaches lays it’s eggs on land at high-tide on a full moon night, so that they get exactly the right interval of two weeks to incubate in the sand before the next extra high tide…
Has reproduction evolved?
Evolution needs millions of years to get things right – if reproduction is not right the species dies out after one generation.
How did sexual intercourse evolve?…
Stargazing tips – The Pole Star and The Plough
In years gone by, stars were the only means of pathfinding at night; no hobby – a necessity. Stargazing tips: The most useful star in the Northern Hemisphere is No.8 on the diagram, Polaris – the Pole Star; always at the same position in the sky, exactly North and constant. It is not a bright star but easily found…