Toad eggs adhere in and out of wate
11. Lungs help detect sound: fire-bellied toad
"How is it possible for a land vertebrate to hear if it has neither external nor middle ears to transmit sounds from the outside world to its inner ears? One species that can do so is the fire-bellied toad (Bombina orientalis). It is responsive to...
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12. Beak provides streamlining: common kingfisher
"[W]e had another challenge that we pursued to the test run phase. Half of the entire Sanyo Shinkansen Line (from Osaka to Hakata) is made up of tunnel sections. When a train rushes into a narrow tunnel at high speed, this generates atmospheric pr...
13. Drawing out of material increases order of molecular materials.
"As the fiber is extruded from the spinneret it is stretched or drawn, and this drawing will both increase the degree of preferred orientation of the crystalline regions and extend the chains in the amorphous regions between crystalline lamellae."...
14. Feet adhere temporarily: aphids
"Thus, in an aerial system, water can act as an adequate glue by a mechanism commonly referred to as 'capillary adhesion.' Aphids appear to use it to adhere to surfaces (Dixon, Croghan, and Gowing 1990). And it almost certainly helps a tree frog r...
15. Nose sniffs out cancer: dog
"In the course of some bibliographical research during the early 1990s, Dr. Armand Cognetta, a dermatologist based in Florida, was surprised to discover in the medical literature a number of confirmed cases in which patients had been found to poss...
16. Eggs are buoyant: oviparous fish
"These fish eggs, equally supported by water on all sides, have retained an almost pure spherical form, and so have the tiny oil droplets inside them, used to make the eggs buoyant." (Foy and Oxford Scientific Films 1982:20)
17. Tadpoles hatch prematurely when snake bump eggs.
“[T]ree frog Agalychnis callidryas has laid masses of gelatinous eggs on palm fronds. Another researcher had discovered that these are a favorite food of an arboreal snake, but when the snake bumps the eggs, the tadpoles hatch prematurely.” (M...
18. Eggs attached securely to hairs: body lice
"Eggs of body lice, commonly called 'nits', are attached to the body hairs of the host by a cement-like substance." (Wootton 1984:87)
19. Fluid protects eggs: birds
"The egg's shock absorption, which has received little investigation, is based on the fact that the embryo is surrounded by the albumen, an elastic gelatin-Iike substance of high water content. The result is a propitious combination of prope...
20. Pear shape protects eggs: loon
"Loon eggs resemble the form of a pear, which is the ideal shape for sharp rock formations. When they receive an impact, they do not fall easily but roll around in circles." (Yahya 2002)
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