{"schemaVersion":"2026-08-01","generatedAt":"2026-10-02T18:34:48.190Z","availability":"available","facts":[{"date":"2026-09-28","slug":"common-loon-solid-bones-diving","url":"/facts/2026-09-28/common-loon-solid-bones-diving","headline":"Loons have solid bones built for sinking","summary":"Most flying birds carry air-filled bones to stay light. The common loon does the opposite, packing dense, largely solid bones that trade lift for the ability to dive tens of metres after fish.","animal":{"name":"Common Loon","slug":"common-loon","scientificName":"Gavia immer"},"habitat":"Freshwater lakes for breeding; coastal marine waters and large ice-free lakes in winter","taxonomicClass":"Aves","sourceCount":2,"correctionNote":null},{"date":"2026-09-25","slug":"aardwolf-nightly-termite-count","url":"/facts/2026-09-25/aardwolf-nightly-termite-count","headline":"One aardwolf can lick up tens of thousands of termites nightly","summary":"Despite its hyena-family membership, the aardwolf hunts nothing larger than an insect. A single night's foraging can involve tens of thousands of individual harvester termites, gathered with a sticky tongue rather than a bite.","animal":{"name":"Aardwolf","slug":"aardwolf","scientificName":"Proteles cristata"},"habitat":"Open savanna, grassland and scrubland, favouring areas with abundant termite mounds and enough grass cover for burrowing","taxonomicClass":"Mammalia","sourceCount":3,"correctionNote":null},{"date":"2026-09-23","slug":"banded-archerfish-water-jet-speed","url":"/facts/2026-09-23/banded-archerfish-water-jet-speed","headline":"Archerfish jets speed up mid-flight to hit prey","summary":"Banded archerfish fire water from their mouths to knock insects off leaves, and the jet accelerates after release so its tip strikes with more force than the mouth that launched it.","animal":{"name":"Banded Archerfish","slug":"banded-archerfish","scientificName":"Toxotes jaculatrix"},"habitat":"Brackish estuaries, mangrove creeks, and coastal rivers, often near the surface under overhanging vegetation","taxonomicClass":"Actinopterygii","sourceCount":3,"correctionNote":null},{"date":"2026-09-22","slug":"indian-rhinoceros-population-recovery","url":"/facts/2026-09-22/indian-rhinoceros-population-recovery","headline":"A near-extinct rhino rebuilt its population from 200","summary":"Hunted down to roughly 200 animals by the early 1900s, the Indian rhinoceros now numbers over 4,000, concentrated almost entirely in a small cluster of protected river-valley parks.","animal":{"name":"Indian Rhinoceros","slug":"indian-rhinoceros","scientificName":"Rhinoceros unicornis"},"habitat":"Alluvial floodplain grasslands, reed beds and riverine forest","taxonomicClass":"Mammalia","sourceCount":2,"correctionNote":null},{"date":"2026-09-21","slug":"sunda-pangolin-tongue-anchored-near-pelvis","url":"/facts/2026-09-21/sunda-pangolin-tongue-anchored-near-pelvis","headline":"Its tongue anchors near the pelvis, not the jaw","summary":"The Sunda pangolin's tongue can stretch far past its snout to probe insect nests, and its root sits deep in the chest cavity near the pelvis and last ribs rather than attaching to the jaw like most mammal tongues.","animal":{"name":"Sunda Pangolin","slug":"sunda-pangolin","scientificName":"Manis javanica"},"habitat":"Tropical and subtropical lowland and hill forests, secondary forest, and oil palm or rubber plantations","taxonomicClass":"Mammalia","sourceCount":2,"correctionNote":null},{"date":"2026-09-20","slug":"white-bellied-pangolin-tail-longer-than-body","url":"/facts/2026-09-20/white-bellied-pangolin-tail-longer-than-body","headline":"Its tail outmeasures its entire body","summary":"The white-bellied pangolin's prehensile tail can grow longer than its head and body combined, functioning as a fifth limb that lets it grip branches, hang, and forage for ants high in the forest canopy.","animal":{"name":"White-bellied Pangolin","slug":"white-bellied-pangolin","scientificName":"Phataginus tricuspis"},"habitat":"Lowland tropical rainforest and forest-savanna mosaic, largely arboreal and nesting in tree hollows","taxonomicClass":"Mammalia","sourceCount":3,"correctionNote":null},{"date":"2026-09-19","slug":"sarcastic-fringehead-mouth-wrestling","url":"/facts/2026-09-19/sarcastic-fringehead-mouth-wrestling","headline":"Rival fringeheads wrestle by locking open mouths","summary":"Male sarcastic fringeheads settle disputes over shelters not by biting but by pressing their wide-open mouths together in a shoving match, a contest where mouth size, not body size, often decides who retreats.","animal":{"name":"Sarcastic Fringehead","slug":"sarcastic-fringehead","scientificName":"Neoclinus blanchardi"},"habitat":"Rocky reefs, kelp forests and soft-bottom seafloors, sheltering in abandoned burrows, snail shells, cans and pipes from the intertidal zone to roughly 73 metres depth","taxonomicClass":"Actinopterygii","sourceCount":1,"correctionNote":null},{"date":"2026-09-17","slug":"kagu-nasal-corns-nostril-flaps","url":"/facts/2026-09-17/kagu-nasal-corns-nostril-flaps","headline":"Kagu nostrils are sealed by skin flaps","summary":"The kagu, a ground-dwelling New Caledonian bird, has fleshy movable flaps called nasal corns covering each nostril, a structure not documented in any other living bird species and linked to its habit of probing leaf litter.","animal":{"name":"Kagu","slug":"kagu","scientificName":"Rhynochetos jubatus"},"habitat":"Dense humid forest floor, including both lowland and montane rainforest","taxonomicClass":"Aves","sourceCount":2,"correctionNote":null},{"date":"2026-09-15","slug":"loggerhead-shrike-impaling-larder","url":"/facts/2026-09-15/loggerhead-shrike-impaling-larder","headline":"This songbird skewers prey to build a larder","summary":"Loggerhead shrikes spear insects, lizards and mice on thorns or barbed wire, using the spike as a substitute for the strong grasping talons they never evolved.","animal":{"name":"Loggerhead Shrike","slug":"loggerhead-shrike","scientificName":"Lanius ludovicianus"},"habitat":"Open country with scattered thorny shrubs, hedgerows, pastures and grasslands, often near fence lines","taxonomicClass":"Aves","sourceCount":3,"correctionNote":null},{"date":"2026-09-13","slug":"sea-angel-clione-limacina-hook-feeding","url":"/facts/2026-09-13/sea-angel-clione-limacina-hook-feeding","headline":"This sea snail eats only one shelled prey","summary":"The sea angel Clione limacina hunts almost nothing but shelled pteropods called sea butterflies, extracting them from their shells with a retractable set of hooked buccal cones rather than a radula alone.","animal":{"name":"Sea Angel","slug":"sea-angel-clione-limacina","scientificName":"Clione limacina"},"habitat":"Open cold-water ocean column, from near-surface waters to several hundred metres depth, often associated with sea ice margins","taxonomicClass":"Gastropoda","sourceCount":3,"correctionNote":null},{"date":"2026-09-12","slug":"rainbow-trout-steelhead-same-species","url":"/facts/2026-09-12/rainbow-trout-steelhead-same-species","headline":"Steelhead and rainbow trout are one species","summary":"Anglers often treat them as separate fish, but steelhead and rainbow trout share identical DNA. The only difference is a lifestyle choice: whether a young fish swims to the ocean or stays in its home river.","animal":{"name":"Rainbow Trout","slug":"rainbow-trout","scientificName":"Oncorhynchus mykiss"},"habitat":"Cold, well-oxygenated rivers, streams and lakes; the migratory form also spends one to three years feeding in the open ocean before returning to fresh water to spawn.","taxonomicClass":"Actinopterygii","sourceCount":3,"correctionNote":null},{"date":"2026-09-10","slug":"ground-pangolin-tongue-attached-near-pelvis","url":"/facts/2026-09-10/ground-pangolin-tongue-attached-near-pelvis","headline":"Its tongue is anchored near the hips","summary":"The ground pangolin's tongue does not attach at the throat like most mammals. Instead it runs back to the pelvis, letting the animal unfurl a probe longer than its own body deep into insect nests.","animal":{"name":"Ground Pangolin","slug":"ground-pangolin","scientificName":"Smutsia temminckii"},"habitat":"Savanna woodland, grassland and semi-arid scrub with termite and ant colonies, often near sandy or loamy soils suitable for burrowing","taxonomicClass":"Mammalia","sourceCount":3,"correctionNote":null},{"date":"2026-09-08","slug":"atlantic-mudskipper-skin-breathing","url":"/facts/2026-09-08/atlantic-mudskipper-skin-breathing","headline":"This fish breathes through its skin on land","summary":"Atlantic mudskippers spend most of their active hours out of water, absorbing oxygen through their skin and mouth lining rather than relying only on gills, a trait called cutaneous respiration.","animal":{"name":"Atlantic Mudskipper","slug":"atlantic-mudskipper","scientificName":"Periophthalmus barbarus"},"habitat":"Intertidal mudflats, mangrove swamps and estuaries","taxonomicClass":"Actinopterygii","sourceCount":3,"correctionNote":null},{"date":"2026-09-07","slug":"fossa-juvenile-female-masculinization","url":"/facts/2026-09-07/fossa-juvenile-female-masculinization","headline":"Young female fossas temporarily look like males","summary":"Before reaching sexual maturity, female fossas grow an enlarged, spine-covered pseudo-penis and rust-orange fur matching adult males, a disguise thought to reduce harassment, then lose both traits within a couple of years.","animal":{"name":"Fossa","slug":"fossa","scientificName":"Cryptoprocta ferox"},"habitat":"Dense tropical rainforest and dry deciduous forest","taxonomicClass":"Mammalia","sourceCount":2,"correctionNote":null},{"date":"2026-09-06","slug":"stingless-bee-defends-by-biting","url":"/facts/2026-09-06/stingless-bee-defends-by-biting","headline":"Stingless bees defend the nest by biting instead","summary":"Their sting is reduced to a useless stub, so defence falls to mandibles, resin and sheer numbers. Some species bite hard enough to draw blood, and a few smear caustic plant secretions into the wound.","animal":{"name":"Stingless Bee","slug":"stingless-bee","scientificName":null},"habitat":"Tropical and subtropical forest and savanna, nesting in tree hollows, walls and underground cavities","taxonomicClass":"Insecta","sourceCount":2,"correctionNote":null},{"date":"2026-09-05","slug":"green-humphead-parrotfish-makes-sand","url":"/facts/2026-09-05/green-humphead-parrotfish-makes-sand","headline":"A single parrotfish makes tonnes of sand a year","summary":"Humphead parrotfish bite living coral, grind the skeleton in a throat mill of interlocking teeth, and excrete the rock as fine white sand. Estimates for large individuals run to several tonnes per fish per year.","animal":{"name":"Green Humphead Parrotfish","slug":"green-humphead-parrotfish","scientificName":"Bolbometopon muricatum"},"habitat":"Outer reef slopes and lagoons, sheltering in caves and wrecks at night","taxonomicClass":"Actinopterygii","sourceCount":3,"correctionNote":null},{"date":"2026-09-04","slug":"eurasian-curlew-bill-tip-bends-independently","url":"/facts/2026-09-04/eurasian-curlew-bill-tip-bends-independently","headline":"The curlew's bill tip opens without opening the bill","summary":"A curlew probing deep in mud cannot open its whole bill against the sediment. Instead the upper mandible flexes near the tip, a mechanism called rhynchokinesis, so the bird can grip a worm at depth with only the last few millimetres moving.","animal":{"name":"Eurasian Curlew","slug":"eurasian-curlew","scientificName":"Numenius arquata"},"habitat":"Upland moor and damp grassland when breeding; estuaries and mudflats in winter","taxonomicClass":"Aves","sourceCount":4,"correctionNote":null},{"date":"2026-09-03","slug":"halls-new-guinea-crocodile-named-from-old-notes","url":"/facts/2026-09-03/halls-new-guinea-crocodile-named-from-old-notes","headline":"A large crocodile was named a species in 2019","summary":"Crocodylus halli was described from museum specimens and decades-old field notes rather than a new discovery in the field. The animals were well known locally; what changed was the recognition that they were not the same species as their northern neighbours.","animal":{"name":"Hall's New Guinea Crocodile","slug":"halls-new-guinea-crocodile","scientificName":"Crocodylus halli"},"habitat":"Freshwater swamps, lakes and slow rivers of southern lowlands","taxonomicClass":"Reptilia","sourceCount":3,"correctionNote":null},{"date":"2026-09-02","slug":"sea-squirt-larva-has-a-notochord-adults-lose","url":"/facts/2026-09-02/sea-squirt-larva-has-a-notochord-adults-lose","headline":"The sea squirt larva is built like a tadpole","summary":"The adult is a filtering sac with no backbone and no obvious head. Its larva, by contrast, swims with a tail stiffened by a notochord and a dorsal nerve cord, the defining features of the group that includes vertebrates.","animal":{"name":"Sea Squirt","slug":"sea-squirt","scientificName":"Ciona intestinalis"},"habitat":"Harbours, pilings and hard substrates in temperate coastal waters","taxonomicClass":"Ascidiacea","sourceCount":4,"correctionNote":null},{"date":"2026-09-01","slug":"compass-termite-mounds-align-north-south","url":"/facts/2026-09-01/compass-termite-mounds-align-north-south","headline":"Compass termite mounds line up north to south","summary":"The flat faces of the wedge point east and west, so the broad sides catch weak morning and evening sun while the narrow edge meets the fierce midday sun overhead. The alignment is remarkably consistent across a plain.","animal":{"name":"Compass Termite","slug":"compass-termite","scientificName":"Amitermes meridionalis"},"habitat":"Seasonally flooded grassland plains of the Australian tropics","taxonomicClass":"Insecta","sourceCount":3,"correctionNote":null}]}