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Note to readers: ‘Biological Expositions’ is a series of blog-posts each of which is equivalent in content to a book chapter. If a bio-bullet is likened to a starter, our routine blog-post could be seen as a light lunch and a biological exposition as a three course meal. We look forward to your comments on this series.
Dingo: Indochinese jackal as much as Australian wolf
photo © Goran tek-en photo © Ashleyflashley The dingo occurs commensally with the human species in Indochina. Its geographical distribution seems to fit...
Giant Panda Puzzleboard
Note to readers: Biological Expositions is a series of blog-posts each of which is equivalent in content to a book chapter. If a bio-bullet is likened to a starter, our routine...
Heaven on a barbed stick
Note to readers: Biological Expositions is a series of blog-posts each of which is equivalent in content to a book chapter. If bio-bullets are likened to a starter, blog-posts...
Tibetan wild ass is designed to be conspicuous to predators
Equus kiang photo © Jan Reurink A counterargument to countershading Prof. Mumblebard claims: “Tibetan wild ass is counter-shaded to blend into the environment. The white ventral...
Zebra striping frustrates victim-selection by hyena rather than bulls-eye pouncing by lion
A counterargument to countershading Prof. Mumblebard claims: “Zebra striping dazzles the pouncing lion. The pattern bewilders its assessment of range and speed, causing the...
The puzzling reluctance of island-colonising mammals on Majorca
A reproduction of the mouse goat (Myotragus balearicus) © Xavier Vázquez An improbable insular monopoly Prof. Mumblebard claims: “Majorca is the only island worldwide on which a...
Genital perversion of spotted hyena: adaptive not accidental
Crocuta crocuta (female) photo © Zanzibarski via PIXABAY20 Prof. Mumblebard claims: “The female spotted hyena (pictured here) has masculine genitalia including a...
Frog eyes
Lithobates pipiens photo © Pdudant The bulging eyes of water and tree frogs differ more than they look. Prof. Mumblebard claims: “Semi-aquatic frogs have dorsally protuberant...
Jaguarundi disguised as puma
Jaguarundi, photo © Vassil Prof. Mumblebard claims: “The jaguarundi is the plainest of the small wild cats. Camouflage patterns are superfluous because its short legs allow this...
South Africa’s suid cinderella
Common warthog (Phacochoerus africanus) photo © Charles J Sharp Prof. Mumblebard claims: “Several types of large mammals have become extinct in southern Africa. In the case of...
A continent mysteriously lacking tortoises
Baby gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) © Chris Potin, via Wikimedia Commons Testudines failed to colonise dry land on the world’s largest island because of its combination of...
Colouration of dogs suggests jackal-like, not wolf, ancestry
Canus lupus photo © Santiago Atienza, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons A counterargument to countershading Canis lupus familiaris photo © Sofia Olsson Prof. Mumblebard...
Signatures of species-distinction in white-bearded wildebeests
White-bearded wildebeest photo © Muhammad Mahdi Karim Prof. Mumblebard claims: “Various subspecies of wildebeests, such as these in East Africa, vary in minor details of...
A salutary trade for seed-dispersing animals
Zanthoxylum Clava-herculis © Wikimedia Commons Certain plants, like Zanthoxylum above (Wikipedia Commons), have seeds dispersed by animals without the usual rewards of sugary...
Why Australia lacks ant-eating woodpeckers
Despite its apparent abundance of ants, Australia is devoid of all woodpeckers. One real reason is that even the most conspicuous ants can be unproductive. Prof. Mumblebard...
Warning colouration in the giant panda
The giant panda is the blackest and whitest of bears, because it is the bear under greatest risk of futile attack by the tiger. Prof. Mumblebard claims: "The black-and-white...
Ultimately benign biological invasions
Metrosideros angustifolia © Julian Sutton. Native biotas are today overwhelmed by a series of invasions by plant and animal species introduced artificially from foreign lands...
The ostrich functions as a typical bird
The ostrich uses the same advantages as used by flying birds, namely greater mobility and heat-tolerance than those of mammals, to compete as a herbivore with the many African...
The failure of bats in New Zealand
The apparent failure of bats to fill empty niches in New Zealand is owing to the ecological unsuitability of these islands for mammals. Prof. Mumblebard claims: “Bats didn’t...
Lack of Australian gophers is no historical accident
Rakali (Hydromys chrysogaster) © ZooPro, via Wikimedia Commons The absence of gopher-like mammals in Australia is not owing to genetic constraints because this continent has...
Unintended consequences of vaccinations
Young girl about to receive a vaccine in her upper arm © Heather Hazzan Vaccination prevents epidemics by boosting immunity, but vaccinated populations of humans and the domestic...