Latest Protostome Stories
AMBLER, Pa., Nov. 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Allergy Technologies LLC, manufacturer of ActiveGuard((TM)) Mattress Liners, is funding a second year of bed bug research at The Ohio State University with an additional $100,000+ grant. This grant is an extension of last year's support by the Company that enabled the launch of this essential research initiative. Extension of this programmatic grant to The Ohio State University will allow for the continued support of a variety of research...
Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online Spearing mantis shrimp must eat plenty of spinach, because scientists have determined it is their muscle power that thrusts them towards their enemy's doom. The lobster-sized shrimp stay in their sandy burrow and wait for prey to come by, and then from out of nowhere, shoot out and grab the next meal with their long skinny appendages. Scientists were not sure how these predators were able to unleash their lightning-fast...
ESA It is not every day that astronauts can claim to return to Earth with a new species of life. But when the astronauts on ESA’s CAVES underground training course returned to the surface they were carrying a special type of woodlouse. CAVES training sends astronauts from all the International Space Station partner nations underground for a week to learn about working in multi-cultural teams under extreme conditions. During their six-night stay in caves in Sardinia, Italy, their...
Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online Researchers have determined that despite their amazing ability to fly in the rain, mosquitoes fail miserably while trying to fly in heavy fog. Scientists reported at the 65th meeting of the American Physical Society's (APS) Division of Fluid Dynamics that just like airplanes, the blood-sucking insects are grounded when fog thickens. "Raindrop and fog impacts affect mosquitoes quite differently," Georgia Tech researcher Andrew...
Alan McStravick for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online We all know that crabs walk sideways--it’s because that’s the way their legs bend. This side-walking trait allows them to move quickly into and out of small holes and crevasses to escape potential threats. So, we know how and why they walk. We just don’t necessarily know where they walk. That is, until now. Scientists this week from the Zoological Institute at the University of Greifswald, in cooperation with their...
OTTAWA, Nov. 15, 2012 /CNW/ - Health Canada would like to remind Canadians that raw shellfish - such as oysters, clams, scallops, mussels and cockles - can carry bacteria, viruses and toxins that can cause foodborne illness if they are not harvested, stored, handled or prepared appropriately. Shellfish is a nutritious food choice. As with all foods, it is important to store, handle and prepare shellfish appropriately to help prevent illness. In particular, children, pregnant...
Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online [ Watch the Video: Leggiest Animal On Earth ] Scientists in California re-discovered the leggiest animal on Earth several years ago living outside Silicon Valley. Paul Marek and colleagues provided details of the millipede lllacme plenipes' complex anatomy and its rarity in the journal ZooKeys. The female lllacme plenipes have up to 750 legs, compared to the males who only have a maximum of 562 legs. The scientists said the...
Brett Smith for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online Males looking to find a mate are always trying to stand out, from peacocks’ colorful plumage to the slightly fictitious profiles on Match.com. According to a newly published report in the journal Functional Ecology, scientists at the University of Bielefeld in Germany have found that male grasshoppers also try to stand out by altering their mating song when surrounded by a noisy urban environment. "We found that grasshoppers from...
Lawrence LeBlond for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online For us humans, being lost isn’t all that much fun, often leading us to walk around in circles as we try to find our way. Apparently, some animals follow similar patterns. Researchers studying Australian sugar ants have found that putting these social insects in an unfamiliar setting can immediately trigger a ‘lost’ reaction. Furthermore, their research shows that an ant’s habitat can determine how it navigates through its...
redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports - Your Universe Online In their search for larger homes, land-based hermit crabs will socialize with their fellow decapods only to force them out of their shells and claim it for their own, researchers from the University of California-Berkeley have discovered. While all types of hermit crabs will claim abandoned snail shells as their own, only the terrestrial types of these crustaceans hollow them out and remodel the shells. This allows them to...
Latest Protostome Reference Libraries
The Dwarf wedge mussel, Alasmidonta Heterodon, is an endangered species of freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusk belonging to the family Unionidae, the river mussels. This species is rare, found solely in North America’s Atlantic coast streams and rivers of a variety of sizes and moderate current. Its current range extends from Maryland to North Carolina. It is federally listed as endangered, and state listed as endangered, in Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New...
The Atlantic Winged Oyster, Pteria Colymbus, is a species of bivalve mollusk belonging to the family Pteriidae. It can be found along the Atlantic coast of North Carolina to Brazil and Bermuda. This Atlantic Winged Oyster grows to about 2.8 inches long and is a distinctive, asymmetric shape. The hinge is long and strait with one wing drawn out a long way and the other one much smaller. The upper valve is brownish, often mottled with some paler markings. The lower valve is smaller and...
Pinctada maxima is a species of pearl oyster, a marine bivalve mollusk belonging to the family Pteriidae, the pearl oysters. There are two different color varieties: the White lipped oyster and the Gold lipped oyster. These bivalves are considered to be the largest pearl oysters in the world. They have a very strong inner shell layer composed of nacre, also known as “mother of pearl”. They’re significant in the cultured pearl industry as they are used to produce South Sea pearls....
The Noble Pen Shell, Pinna Nobilis, is a species of large saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusk belonging to the family Pinnidae. This bivalve shell can be as large as almost 3 feet in length, and the shape is somewhat variable. Like all pen shells, it is quite fragile. It attaches itself to rocks using a strong byssus made up of many silk like hairs. These are fibers that are secreted by the animal. Brilliant mother of pearl lines the inside of the shell. This species is native to...
The Amber Pen Shell, Pinna Carnea, is a species of bivalve mollusk belonging to the family Pinnidae. It can be found in Caribbean waters, ranging from southern Florida to the West Indies and Bermuda. The amber pen shell has a pair of long, thin, and translucent valves and is triangular, fan, or wedge shaped, with a point at one end and a curved and ragged end at the other extremity. The hinge is along the straight side. It has the potential to grow to about 16 inches long though it usually...
