Hula Painted Frog Bounces Back From Extinction

A species of frog that was thought to have been made extinct during the drainage of the Hula marshlands in Israel, has appeared again after more than 50 years of hiding.

 The Palestinian or Hula painted frog (Discoglossus nigriventer) originally went missing when the Jewish National Fund drained the marshlands around the Hula Valley in the 1950s. The swamp was a breeding ground for malaria, and the disease was killing off the population. The JNF removed the water from the swamp and redirected the flow of water to the river Jordan with artificial estuaries.

The operation led to huge destruction of ecosystems, wiping out water plants, tropical aquatic ferns, the ray-finned fish Acanthobrama hulensis and the cichlid fish Tristramella intermedia. Until this week, it was thought that the hula painted frog was among the lost species. But a routine patrol at the Ha’Hula lake by Israel’s Nature and Parks Authority turned up a mysterious, unknown female frog and took it back to the lab for testing.

It was soon confirmed that it was a Hula painted frog, and the rare species had hung on amongst the devastation of its habitat.

Original article here.

High-Speed Video Shows How Hummingbirds Stay Dry

How does a hummingbird keep dry? A series of high-speed videos reveal that hummingbirds shake themselves like dogs. Of course, dogs don’t shake while balanced delicately in mid-air, flapping their wings 45 times per second. At a glance, that might not seem like a pressing problem. But for a bird that weighs a few grams and lives on a razor-thin margin of bioenergetic error, it’s a life-or-death matter. See more in the original article here.

Murmuration of Thousands of Starlings

The video above was taken at the River Shannon in Ireland. It shows thousands of starlings in shape-shifting flocks that are referred to as a "murmation."

Flesh-Eating Piranhas Bark When Angered

Hollywood has given the piranha a rough reputation as a vicious fish with a penchant for biting. But according to scientists, the piranha barks more than it bites.

 The team of biologists plunged a hydrophone (an underwater microphone) into a tank of captive red-bellied piranhas and listened in to the different sounds they make in different situations.

 So far, the team registered three distinct noises. When piranhas enter into a confrontation they’ll make a barking noise. When they’re fighting for food or circling an opponent, a piranha will make short percussive drum-like sounds. And when their jaws snap at each other, a softer croaking sound is produced.

 Read more in the original article here.

12 New and 3 Lost Night-Frog Species Discovered in India

Researchers in India have found a dozen new frog species belonging to the night frog group, named for their nocturnal habits, and rediscovered three species, one of which had not been seen in nearly a century.

Night frogs are a group endemic to India and require either fast moving rivers or moist forest floor for breeding. The researchers write that half of the newly discovered species reproduce without any physical contact between the sexes, with the female depositing her eggs on a leaf and the males later fertilizing them. Despite their chaste procreation, both parents are active guardians for the eggs, bringing them water to prevent drying out and warding off predators.

All the frogs were spotted in a region known as the Western Ghats, a mountain range than runs along the western coast of India that has been identified as one of the ten hottest biodiversity hotspots in the world. Because of the small area they occupy, at least six of the new species are sensitive to habitat loss and will require immediate steps toward conservation.

For more information and pictures, see the original post here.

Rare Kingfishers Hatch at the Smithsonian

Two critically endangered Micronesian kingfishers, among the rarest animals in the world, hatched recently at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute.

These new chicks boost the total world population to 131. The chicks are hand-reared, fed at two hour intervals, seven to eight times a day.

Extinct in the wild for more than 20 years, Micronesian kingfishers are difficult to breed in captivity. Male and female birds can be reluctant to bond. Not all parents are able to successfully rear their offspring, and their health can be delicate. A third chick hatched at the Institute’s Bird House on Sept. 3 died two days later of unknown causes.

Original article here.

Attack of the Brain-Controlling Parasites

Once upon a time, parasites were thought to live relatively simple lives: They hitched a ride on a host, sapping nutrients and energy but otherwise leaving it alone. But that was only part of the story. Many parasites actually take control, causing their hosts to act in self-destructive ways that further their invaders' interests.

Below are some examples of parasites from the original article in Wired.

The Lymantria dispar baculovirus, for example, causes caterpillars to climb into treetops rather than hiding in bark. When those that go uneaten by birds finally die and decompose (as pictured above), viral particles rain onto foliage below, infecting a new generation of caterpillars.

Zombie Ants (below): The Ophiocordyceps fungus releases a chemical related to LSD, causing infected worker ants to leave their nests and find a leaf about 10 inches off the ground. Once there, the ants attach themselves to the leaf's side, then die. Over the next year, Ophiocordyceps consumes their bodies and uses them as a launching site for spores.

Webs for Wasps (below): Wasps are famous for laying eggs in insects that become living meals for their ravenous larvae. Hymenoepimecis wasps take it one step further: On the very evening that the larval wasp will kill its orb-spider host, it causes the spider to make a new type of web. Instead of spinning an elegant skein of concentric circles, the spider makes a structure capable of supporting the cocoon that the larva will build a few hours later, after killing and eating the spider.

Original article here.

Beautiful National Parks Seen From Space

Below are several examples from this gallery of national parks seen from space.  For additional information and pictures, see the original article.

Yellowstone National Park:

Kenai Fjords National Park:

Grand Canyon National Park:

Dolphins Blast Into School of Fish

Dolphins and gannets blast through a shimmering, pulsing vortex of fish known as "prey balls" in these up-close glimpses of an underwater buffet.

In a prey ball, tens or hundreds of thousands of fish cluster into a dense swarm, moving as a single entity. It’s not clear if they’re getting into this shape to reduce their chances of being eaten, or because dolphins are herding them to be in that shape.

Dolphins circled clockwise around prey balls — dolphins appear, like most humans, to favor their right sides — skimming bites off the edges rather than plunging straight in. Often two dolphins would attack at the same time, rather than individually. When prey balls tried to dive, dolphins herded them back up.

Original article here.

New Pacific eel is a 'living fossil', scientists say

A newly discovered eel that inhabits an undersea cave in the Pacific Ocean has been dubbed a "living fossil" because of its primitive features.

It is so distinct, scientists created a new taxonomic family to describe its relationship to other eels.

The scientific team say the eel's features suggest it has a long and independent evolutionary history stretching back 200 million years.

The animal used as the basis for the new study was an 18cm-long female, collected by one of the researchers during a dive at a 35m-deep cave in the Republic of Palau.

In order to classify the new animal, the researchers had to create a new family, genus and species, bestowing on the animal the latin name Protoanguilla palau.

The team's results suggest this new family has been evolving independently for the last 200 million years, placing their origins in the early Mesozoic era, when dinosaurs were beginning their domination of the planet.

The researchers say the Protoanguilla lineage must have once been more widely distributed, because the undersea ridge where its cave home is located is between 60 and 70 million years old.

See original article here.