In the female, sperm become sequestered in specialized storage organs or reservoirs, where they may remain for several days, weeks, months, or years before being used to fertilize eggs. Several different but interrelated mechanisms are used by animals to target the sperm to the portion of the ...
She knows nothing of human reproduction. She has no clue that an encounter nine months earlier — which had been in no way any different from any of the violent or playful encounters that she had grown up with — had caused her instability and collapse at the place of waste. She has no...
Velvet worm reproduction is as bizarre and unsettling as the way that this animal finds food. Yet the worst of the bodily damage sustained during reproduction is inflicted by a certain type of female velvet worm after interaction with a selected male. Velvet worm males in the family Peripatopsi...
Wombats are territorial animals. They mark their home range by grunting at intruders, rubbing their scent on trees, and scattering their cube-shaped droppings. The unique shape of their dung helps keep the markings in place around their territory. Wombat Burrows With a tough barrel-like body, ...
the octopuses have evolved over time to ensure the continuity of their species. Female dumbos carry eggs in different stages of development. In addition, they also carry sperms for a long time after mating with a male. When the females find favorable conditions for reproduction, they transfer ...
The appearance of flowers drew animals into the plant reproduction game as carriers for pollen – not for the first time, as a small number of gymnosperms are known to be insect pollinated – but at a level of control and specificity never before seen. Angiosperms have recruited ants, bees...
Most live in the deep ocean, which makes it difficult to fully understand their lifestyle. The harp sponges collected by MBARI scientists mark the first time researchers observed the complete cycle of a carnivorous sponge's unique approach to sexual reproduction. Most sponges release actively ...
Everything about the Suriname toad is hideous. First there’s its disturbing appearance. It basically looks like road kill…that is, road kill that all of the other road kill try to keep away from. It’s method of reproduction is just as horrid. During the “mating dance” eggs and sper...
Let's shine a dim ray of sunshine through this watery, mysterious underworld and peek at a few of the most bizarre living things on the planet. But these species aren't just weird; they're also some of toughest animals around. The dumbo octopus may look cute, but it swallows its prey...
Reproduction and Social Behavior Naked mole rats and other mole rats form colonies, much like bees and ants.Kerstin Klaassen / Getty Images What dobees, ants, and mole rats have in common? All are eusocial animals. This means they live in colonies that have overlapping generations, division ...