Our Blog
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.
Cholesterol as cost of progress from primitive hunter to industrial seed-eater
Glyptodon photo © Heinrich Harder Cholesterol as cost of progress from primitive hunter to industrial seed-eater Lipids vary greatly in their proneness to...
Animals too can be meristematic
African elephant (Loxodonta africana) © Muhammad Mahdi Karim Animals too can be meristematic Meristematic tissues are best-known in plants and currently defined as restricted to...
The improbable complexity of equid dentition
Equus caballus photo in the Public Domain The improbable complexity of equid dentition Equus caballus skull photo © PD-self The teeth of the...
Fishing for any hue other than orange
Corythornis madagascariensis photo © Frank Vassen Fishing for any hue other than orange The Madagascar pygmy kingfisher and many other species...
Another aspect of subtle mimicry of lion by leopard
Leopard (Panthera pardus) © Bernard Dupont The rosettes on the bodies of leopard and jaguar are so similar that they could belong to the same species. However, only the jaguar...
The relative elephantine
Loxodonta africana photo © Rob Hooft The relative elephantine Although the African bush elephant is often photographed, its true size can seldom...
A country spoiled for choice in megafauna
Common Warthog (Phacochoerus africanus) © Bernard Dupont, via Wikimedia Commons The desert warthog is more massive than any indigenous mammal on the whole continent of Australia....
Extra carbon to beat salt as opposed to heat
Atriplex canescens photo © Stan Shebs Extra carbon to beat salt as opposed to heat Vegetation of Great Basin in winter photo © Qfl247 The...
Rock hyraxes know no way to gnaw
Heterohyrax brucei photo © Vladislav Jirousek Rock hyraxes know no way to gnaw Rock cavy (Kerodon rupestris) photo in the Public Domain The...
Capybara: more than a giant guinea-pig
Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris photo © Dario Sanchez Capybara: more than a giant guinea-pig The capybara is extreme in being the largest living...
Californian oaks refute the assumption that tall trees need groundwater to grow in dry climates
A textbook assumption in Biology is that the amount of water available to plants is the main determinant of the height of the vegetation. For this reason, the tall savannas...
Dingo: jackal as much as wolf
Distribution of Canis lupus photo © Dreg743 Dingo: jackal as much as wolf Distribution of Canis aureus photo © Goran tek-en Canis aureus photo © Prabukumar84...
Confusing versus clarifying flight-displays in impalas
Aepyceros melampus showing honest/informative display photo © Yathin sk Confusing versus clarifying flight-displays in impalas Impalas are unique among hoofed mammals in using...
Illuminating the darkest of wildebeests
Connochaetes gnou photo © Kieth Offord Illuminating the darkest of wildebeests The black wildebeest is really medium brown if described by its pigmentation. Its blackness at a...
Even a monkey is not clownish enough to wear an orange tag
Leontopithecus rosalia photo © Su Neko Even a monkey is not clownish enough to wear an orange tag Leontopithecus rosalia photo © Steve Washington There is a psychological rather...
Rock-wallaby is no marsupial klipspringer
Petrogale xanthopus photo © Peripitus Rock-wallaby is no marsupial klipspringer Oreotragus oreotragus photo © Neil Strickland The yellow-footed...
Molar mill of a massive myrmecophage
Orycteropus afer © OpenCage Molar mill of a massive myrmecophage The capybara of South America and the aardvark of Africa – both of which weigh...
The dubious value of milk in otherwise sufficient diets
Bos taurus photo © Muhammad Mahdi Kari The dubious value of milk in otherwise sufficient diets Capra hircus photo © Fir0002 Although accepted as a normal part of the human diet...
Boron as fast food for bones
Borax crystals photo © Arum Dulyan Boron as fast food for bones A deficiency of boron may seem an unlikely cause of arthritis and osteoporosis in...
The Ethiopian wolf’s white gloves
Canis simensis photo © Laika ac The Ethiopian wolf’s white gloves Of the five wild species of Canis in and around Ethiopia, only the Ethiopian wolf has an...
Speciation of wildebeests across the dark-pale divide
Connochaetes mearnsi photo © Stefan Swanepoel Speciation of wildebeests across the dark-pale divide Connochaetes albojubatus adult male photo © Paul Mannix Two species of...