18: Mysterious Animal Superpowers

How do animals breathe underwater? How long do Tardigrades live - and what's the biggest animal that a snake can swallow? All these animal superpower related questions (and a whole lot more) are answered by our intrepid science reporters, Jeanna and Mindy.

 

Below you can find links to further reading on the topics discussed in this episode.

 

 Mystery #1:  How Do Animals Breathe Underwater?

•  The world's water dwellers have evolved several methods for accessing oxygen in water 
• Jellyfish absorb the oxygen in water directly through their skin 

 

Interview with Nick Caruso of the Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation at Virginia Tech, co author of the spectacularly gross book Believe It Or Snot: The Definitive Field Guide to Earth's Slimy Creatures

 

Mystery #2: How Long Do Tardigrades Live?

• Tardigrades are microscopic organisms that are impossibly cute! 
• They are the toughest, most indestructible creatures on Earth

 

NEWS UPDATE with Live Science reporter, Nicoletta Lanese on Game Over: These Monkeys Just Crushed Humans on a Computer Game

Mystery #3: What's The Biggest Animal That a Snake Can Swallow?

• A common belief is that snakes are able to unhinge or dislocate their jaws 
• In 2018, a Burmese python in Florida that weighed about 32 lbs. (14 kg) swallowed a young white-tailed deer weighing 35 lbs.

 

Don’t forget to subscribe! You can find more answers to life’s little mysteries at the Live Science website and you can follow us on Twitter and Facebook too. Tell us what your life’s little mysteries are at forums.livescience.com

 

Music by Chad Crouch - Algorithms

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License