this post was submitted on 10 Nov 2023
38 points (100.0% liked)

Biodiversity

2553 readers
6 users here now

Welcome to c/Biodiversity @ Mander.xyz!

A community about the variety of life on Earth at all levels; including plants, animals, bacteria, and fungi.



Notice Board

This is a work in progress, please don't mind the mess.

2023-06-16: We invite our users to contribute resources for the sidebar.

2023-06-15: Looking for mods!



About

Biodiversity is a term used to describe the enormous variety of life on Earth. It can be used more specifically to refer to all of the species in one region or ecosystem. Biodiversity refers to every living thing, including plants, bacteria, animals, and humans. Scientists have estimated that there are around 8.7 million species of plants and animals in existence. However, only around 1.2 million species have been identified and described so far, most of which are insects. This means that millions of other organisms remain a complete mystery.

Over generations, all of the species that are currently alive today have evolved unique traits that make them distinct from other species. These differences are what scientists use to tell one species from another. Organisms that have evolved to be so different from one another that they can no longer reproduce with each other are considered different species. All organisms that can reproduce with each other fall into one species. Read more...

Rules

  1. Don't throw mud. Be kind and remember the human.
  2. Keep it rooted (on topic).
  3. No spam.


Quick Links

Resources



Bypass Paywalls



Similar Communities


Sister Communities

Science and Research

Biology and Life Sciences

Plants & Gardening

Physical Sciences

Humanities and Social Sciences

Memes



Find us on Reddit!

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Scientists have rediscovered a long-lost species of mammal described as having the spines of a hedgehog, the snout of an anteater and the feet of a mole, in Indonesia’s Cyclops Mountains more than 60 years after it was last recorded.

Attenborough’s long-beaked echidna, named after British naturalist David Attenborough, was photographed for the first time since 1961 by a trail camera on the last day of a four-week expedition led by Oxford University scientists in June and July.

Having descended from the mountains at the end of the trip, biologist James Kempton found the images of the small creature walking through the forest undergrowth on the last memory card retrieved from more than 80 remote cameras.

top 2 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] autotldr@lemmings.world 1 points 2 years ago

This is the best summary I could come up with:


Scientists have rediscovered a long-lost species of mammal described as having the spines of a hedgehog, the snout of an anteater and the feet of a mole, in Indonesia’s Cyclops Mountains more than 60 years after it was last recorded.Attenborough’s long-beaked echidna, named after British naturalist David Attenborough, was photographed for the first timesince 1961 by a trail camera on the last day of a four-week expedition led by Oxford University scientists in June and July.

Having descended from the mountains at the end of the trip, biologist James Kempton found the images of the small creature walking through the forest undergrowth on the last memory card retrieved from more than 80 remote cameras.

“There was a great sense of euphoria, and also relief having spent so long in the field with no reward until the very final day,” he said, describing the moment he first saw the footage with collaborators from Indonesian conservation group Yappenda.“I shouted out to my colleagues that were still remaining … and said ‘we found it, we found it’ – I ran in from my desk to the living room and hugged the guys.”

Echidnas share their name with a half woman, half serpent Greek mythological creature, and were described by the team as shy, nocturnal burrow-dwellers who are notoriously difficult to find.“The reason it appears so unlike other mammals is because it is a member of the monotremes, an egg-laying group that separated from the rest of the mammal tree-of-life about 200m years ago,” Kempton said.

A different echidna species is found throughout Australia and lowland New Guinea.Kempton’s team survived an earthquake, malaria and even a leech attached to an eyeball during their trip.

They worked with the local village Yongsu Sapari to navigate and explore the remote terrain of northeastern Papua.The echidna is embedded in the local culture, including a tradition that states conflicts are resolved by sending one party to a disagreement into the forest to search for the mammal and another to the ocean to find a marlin, according to Yongsu Sapari elders cited by the university.Both creatures were seen as so difficult to find that it would often take decades or a generation to locate them, but, once found, the animals symbolised the end of the conflict and a return to harmonious relationships.


The original article contains 398 words, the summary contains 383 words. Saved 4%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

[–] MxRemy@lemmy.one 1 points 2 years ago

I read this as an ingredients list for a witch's brew at first, like "toe of newt and eye of bat" style.