Caring for eggs in octopuses. How do cephalopods take care of their offspring Do sandy octopuses take care of their offspring

In the art of disguise, he has no equal. Is he capable of thinking? Does he have consciousness? Some scientists believe that this is quite possible.

Imagine that you are diving into the sea off the coast of the Indonesian island of Lembeh. It is not deep here - about five meters, and everything is flooded with sunlight. The water is very warm - as expected in a tropical paradise. The bottom is covered with wavy fine dark gray sand with greenish spots of silt. Looking around the surroundings, you notice a lone bivalve, quite massive. Six sharp spikes protrude from it: perhaps the owner of the shell is hiding inside. Or maybe he died a long time ago, and now a hermit crab has settled in the bivalve. Out of curiosity, you decide to turn the shell over... But instead of the horns of a snail or the stalked eyes of a cancer, large, almost human eyes, surrounded by a halo of tentacles with suction cups, look at you. Here is an octopus, namely the coconut octopus (Amphioctopus marginatus), so named for its fidelity to the coconut shell - it is in it that he prefers to hide. Sometimes this mollusk even travels with its shelter - after all, it may well come in handy in case of danger. However, if an empty shell comes across, it will take it.

"These animals are walking pieces of meat, a kind of filet mignon in the depths of the sea."

Having secured with suction cups, the octopus gently holds the flaps. You continue to watch and notice that, slightly loosening his grip, he pulls himself up and sticks out: he assesses the situation. Pausing so as not to frighten off a thumb-sized mollusk, you see how he, making sure that there is no danger, leaves the shell. Moving along the sand, the octopus becomes as dark gray as the ground. Has he decided to leave? Not at all: crawling along the sand, the mollusk climbs onto the shell. Then, with a deft movement, he turns it over and crawls inside again. You were about to set sail when suddenly a barely perceptible movement catches your eye: an octopus washes away the sand under the sink with streams of water until a gap forms there. And now our hero is already peeking out from under the shell. You lean closer and your eyes meet. He looks into your eyes, as if studying. Yes, among invertebrates, octopuses are perhaps the most human. Even among vertebrates, such an intelligent, searching look is rare: try to imagine some kind of fish trying to look into your soul!

The spots on the body of the nocturnal octopus Callistoctopus alpheus are pigment-filled sacs. If the clam decides to reveal them all, its skin will be covered with a pattern of white polka dots on a red background.

Octopuses resemble humans also in that they are famous for their agility - with the help of tentacles strewn with hundreds of suction cups, they can manipulate objects no worse than we do with our fingers, easily open bivalve shells, screw lids off jars and even disassemble the water filtration system in aquariums. This distinguishes them favorably from marine mammals, because the same dolphins, although smart, are very limited by the anatomy of the body - with all their desire and ingenuity, they cannot open a jar. At the same time, it is difficult to imagine creatures more unlike us: did you know that an octopus has three hearts and blue blood? And about the fact that they do not have a skeleton? A beak like a parrot's and thick cartilage protecting the brain are all hard parts of the body. Therefore, they easily penetrate through cracks and can escape from almost anywhere. And each sucker is able to move independently of the others and is covered with taste buds - as if the human body were studded with hundreds of tiny tongues. And in the skin of the mollusk, a lot of light-sensitive cells are concentrated. But this is not the most alien quality of cephalopods. Before we reveal all the cards, let's get to know the representatives of this tribe closer. If humans belong to the class of mammals, then octopuses are also included in the class of cephalopods (Cephalopoda). The name of the class perfectly reflects the essence of their anatomy: “legs”, that is, tentacles, are located on one side of the large head, grow from it, and a short sac-like body is on the other. The class Cephalopoda refers to the phylum Mollusca, which also includes gastropods (snails and slugs), bivalves (mussels and oysters), multivalve chitons, and several lesser known classes. Their history goes back half a billion years and begins with a tiny creature with a cap-like shell. After 50 million years, these mollusks already dominated the ocean, turning into the largest predators. Some individuals reached enormous sizes - for example, the length of the shells of a giant endocer (Endoceras giganteum) exceeded five meters. Now the planet is inhabited by more than 750 species of cephalopods known to science. In addition to 300 species of octopuses, this class includes squid and cuttlefish (having 10 tentacles each), as well as several types of nautilus - unusual mollusks with nine dozen tentacles that live in a multi-chambered spirally folded shell. Representatives of this genus are the only direct descendants of the oldest outer-shell cephalopods.

Modern octopuses are very diverse: from the giant North Pacific octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini), in which only one tentacle can reach two meters in length, to the tiny Octopus wolfi, whose mass does not exceed 30 grams. Shallow-water species prefer to settle among corals, stay in muddy pools or hide in the sand, surfacing only to get from one point to another, or to escape from predators. Views of the open sea cut through the expanses of the sea, following the ocean currents. They are found everywhere - from the tropics to the polar regions. Let us return, however, to the shores of the island of Lembeh. A new day is just beginning, the sun's rays penetrate the water column. You are sailing over a shallow coral reef. The local guide Amba gives you a sign that he has noticed an octopus, and quite a large one. You look around, trying in vain to see the mollusk, but you see only rocks covered with coral and colorful sponges. Amba insists, gesticulating "Big!". You look where he points his finger, but you don't see anything. However, looking at the dark velvety coral one more time, you understand that this is not a coral at all, but a blue octopus (Octopus cyanea). And how did you not immediately make out this creature, the size of a serving dish! Many animals hide, merging with the objects around them - for example, that orange sponge over there is actually not a sponge at all, but an angler fish, hiding in anticipation of careless prey. A leaf floating near the bottom is not a leaf at all, but also a fish pretending to be a leaf. The bright anemone is by no means a poisonous polyp, but a harmless sea slug, cleverly confusing everyone with its appearance. But a small section of the seabed suddenly took and swam - in fact, this is a flounder, merged in color with the ground. But even in such a company, octopuses and cuttlefish (and, to a lesser extent, squid) have no equal in the art of disguising themselves on the move, or rather, afloat - sometimes they look like a coral, sometimes like a ball of snakes, and the next minute they can no longer be seen on the sandy bottom. They adapt so skillfully to the surrounding objects that it seems as if they create three-dimensional images of various objects with the help of their body and skin. How do they do it?

Photo: Many species of cephalopods are venomous to varying degrees, but the venom of the southern blue-ringed octopus Hapalochlaena muculosa can be fatal to humans. Author: David Liittschwager; photo taken at Pang Quong Aquatics, Victoria, Australia">

Many species of cephalopods are venomous to varying degrees, but the venom of the southern blue-ringed octopus Hapalochlaena muculosa can be fatal to humans.

Photo: David Liittschwager; photo taken at Pang Quong Aquatics, Victoria, Australia

Photo: A Pacific red octopus (Octopus rubescens) displays its suckers. Each of them can move independently of the others, bend and twist to provide tight suction, impressive strength and enviable agility. Posted by David Liittschwager, photographed at Dive Gizo, Solomon Islands">

A Pacific red octopus (Octopus rubescens) displays its suckers. Each of them can move independently of the others, bend and twist to provide tight suction, impressive strength and enviable agility.

Photo: David Liittschwager, taken at Dive Gizo, Solomon Islands

Photo: Most octopuses grow very quickly - the photo shows a young blue octopus (Octopus cyanea). By David Liittschwager, photographed at Dive Gizo, Solomon Islands">

Most octopuses grow very quickly - the photo shows a young blue octopus (Octopus cyanea).

Photo: David Liittschwager, taken at Dive Gizo, Solomon Islands

Octopuses have three degrees of protection (camouflage). The first is color mimicry - pigments and reflectors are used for it. The pigments are granules of yellow, brown and red and are found inside numerous sacs in the top layer of the skin (there may be several thousand of them and look like tiny specks when closed). To change color, the mollusc contracts the muscles around the pouches, squeezing them outward, where they expand. Deftly controlling the size of the pouches, the octopus is able to change patterns on the skin - from spots to wavy lines and stripes. Reflector cells are of two types: the first simply reflect the rays falling on them - in white light they are white, in red light they turn red. Cells of the second type are similar to the film of a soap bubble: they shine in different colors depending on the angle of incidence of the light rays. Together, the pigments and reflective cells allow the octopus to create a full palette of colors and complex patterns. The second element of the camouflage system is the texture of the skin. By using certain muscle groups, octopuses easily turn a smooth body surface into a bumpy or even spiked one. For example, prickly abdopus (Abdopus aculeatus) imitates algae so plausibly that it is almost impossible to distinguish it from a plant without some skill. The third secret, thanks to which octopuses manage to remain unnoticed, is a soft body that can turn into anything. For example, curl up into a ball and slowly move along the bottom, depicting a piece of a coral reef: “They say, I’m not a predator, but just a lifeless block.”

I wonder if octopuses understand what needs to be portrayed at any given moment? An ordinary freshwater snail has about 10,000 neurons, lobsters have about 100,000, and jumping spiders have 600,000. Bees and cockroaches, leading in terms of the number of neurons among invertebrates - naturally, after cephalopods - have about a million. The nervous system of the common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) consists of 500 million neurons: this is a completely different level. In terms of the number of neurons, it significantly exceeds mice (80 million), as well as rats (200 million) and may well be compared with cats (700 million). However, unlike vertebrates, in which the majority of neurons are concentrated in the brain, in cephalopods, two-thirds of all nerve cells are concentrated in the tentacles. Another important fact: the higher the level of development of the nervous system, the more energy the body spends on its functioning, so the benefits should be worth it. Why do octopuses need 500 million neurons? Peter Godfrey-Smith is a philosopher by training, but is currently studying octopuses at the City University of New York and the University of Sydney. He believes that the appearance of such a complex nervous system is due to several reasons. Firstly, this is the structure of the body of octopuses - after all, the nervous system is transformed as the whole organism develops, and the body of an octopus is extremely complex. The mollusk can turn any part of the tentacle in any direction it likes (it has no bones, which means there are no limiting joints). Thanks to this, octopuses have complete freedom of movement. In addition, each tentacle is able to move independently of the others. It is very interesting to watch the octopus during the hunt - it lies on the sand with spread tentacles, and each of them carefully examines and searches the area allotted to it, not missing a single hole. As soon as one of the “hands” stumbles upon something edible, such as a shrimp, two neighboring ones immediately rush to the rescue so as not to miss the prey. The suckers on the tentacles can also move independently of each other. Add here the need for constant monitoring of the color and texture of the skin; processing a continuous stream of information coming from the senses - taste and touch receptors on the suckers, organs of spatial orientation (statocysts), as well as from very complex eyes - and you will understand why cephalopods need such a developed brain. Octopuses also need a complex nervous system for navigation, because their usual habitat - coral reefs - has a rather complex spatial structure. In addition, mollusks do not have a shell, so you have to constantly be on the alert and watch out for predators, because if the camouflage suddenly doesn’t work, you will need to “do your feet” right there to take cover in the shelter. “These animals are walking pieces of meat, a kind of filet mignon in the depths of the sea,” explains Mark Norman, a world-class expert on modern cephalopods from the Victoria Museum in Melbourne, intelligibly. Finally, octopuses are fast, agile hunters with a wide range of taste preferences. They eat everything from oysters hiding in powerful shells to fish and crabs, which themselves are not a miss: with strong claws or with sharp teeth. So, a boneless body, a difficult habitat, a varied diet, the need to hide from predators - these are the main reasons, according to Peter Godfrey-Smith, that led to the development of the mental abilities of cephalopods. Being the owners of such a developed nervous system, how smart are they? Assessing the level of intelligence of animals is not an easy task, often in the course of such experiments we learn more about ourselves than about the individuals being studied. Traditional traits that measure the intelligence of birds and mammals, such as the ability to use tools, do not work in the case of octopuses, because the main tool for these mollusks is their own body. Why does an octopus need to make something to extract a treat from a hard-to-reach crevice or use foreign objects to open an oyster? For all this, he has tentacles. Tentacles are tentacles, but back in the 1950s and 1960s, scientists began to conduct experiments during which they found that octopuses are highly trainable and have a good memory - and these are two main signs of intelligence. Roy Caldwell, who studies octopuses at the University of California (Berkeley), says: “Unlike the smartest common octopus (Octopus vulgaris), many of my charges turned out to be dumb as Siberian felt boots.” - "Who is it?" - you ask. “For example, tiny Octopus bocki.” “Why are they so underdeveloped?” “Probably because they don’t have to deal with difficult situations in life.”

David Liittschwager, photographed at Queensland Sustainable Sealife, Australia Callistoctopus alpheus is propelled forward by a jet of water released by the muscles of the mantle through a funnel located just below the eye.

It doesn't matter if octopuses are smart or stupid, whether they think about food or think in spiritual categories - in any case, there is something special about them. Something mesmerizing and alluring. ...There is one more dive left. Sunset time on Lembeh island. You stopped at the bottom of a rocky slope. A couple of fish are swimming in front of you, they are spawning. Not far from them, an eel curled up in a burrow. A large hermit crab slowly drags its shell, and it taps dully on the bottom. A small octopus hid on a rock. You decided to take a closer look at him: here he begins to move slowly, for a moment hangs in the water column, like an eight-armed yogi. Then he goes about his business again. Now he has already crossed the rock, but you still could not see exactly how he moves - whether he pulls himself up with his front tentacles, or pushes himself off with his back ones. Continuing to move, the mollusk gropes for a small crevice and instantly disappears there. Well, gone. No, not really: a tentacle protrudes from the gap - it checks the space surrounding the mink, grabs a few pebbles and seals the entrance with them. Now you can sleep peacefully.

An octopus species unknown to science. The unusual creature was nicknamed Casper for its milky color and resemblance to the Disney character.

Marine biologists have come to the conclusion that due to a number of differences from their relatives, we can talk about the discovery of not only a new species, but also a whole new genus of octopuses. The fact is that this octopus lives at an incredible depth for cephalopods - more than four thousand meters. Casper has no fins, and all suckers are arranged in one row on each limb, which is also uncharacteristic of octopuses. In addition, the representative of the new species completely lacks pigment cells - chromatophores. That is why the creature is almost transparent.

A team of scientists led by Autun Purser from the Institute of Polar and Marine Research. Alfred Wegener, observed 30 individuals using remote-controlled underwater vehicles.

The discovery made by scientists turned out to be surprising and frightening at the same time. They were able to find out that "ghostly" octopuses are characterized by an unusual parenting strategy. She would be a real gift for the scientific community, if not for one thing: it is because of her that a unique species is threatened with extinction.

Female "ghostly" octopuses take care of the eggs until the offspring hatch. Due to the low temperatures prevailing at great depths, this happens for quite a long time - sometimes up to several years (although after scientists it is already difficult to surprise with the timing).

At the same time, the researchers note that the strategy of caring for offspring, as the researchers note, turned out to be incredibly touching in these octopuses: the female wraps her whole body around the eggs and protects them from other deep-sea inhabitants, without even sailing off to get her own food. As a result, almost always she dies when the cubs hatch.

But this was not the main threat to the new species. Observations have shown that "ghost" octopuses are accustomed to laying eggs on dead sponges - these are deep-sea multicellular organisms leading an attached lifestyle. Near the Hawaiian Islands, where Casper was first seen, these sponges attach themselves to deposits of ferromanganese nodules - formations that contain a large amount of valuable metals (manganese, copper and nickel), which are used, for example, in the manufacture of mobile phones.

Areas of the ocean floor covered with such deposits. In this regard, the territory for breeding octopuses is under threat.

Casper's relatives are recognized as long-lived, which means that if the concretions and sponges living on them disappear completely, it will be almost impossible to restore the "ghostly" octopus population. According to scientists, if this region is used for industrial purposes, the local fauna will not recover even 26 years later. This, in turn, will harm the ecosystem as a whole, as octopuses feed on small organisms, whose populations will increase unpredictably when the former disappear.

Scientists suggest that octopuses prefer to lay eggs on sponges near manganese deposits due to the connection with the source of food, and also because of the safety of such locations (from the point of view of the daily life of the ocean), but this is only a hypothesis that needs to be tested.

So far, very little is known about the "ghostly" octopus, and marine biologists intend to protect the ecosystem and the rare species from extinction, because its further study can provide valuable information. In addition, many more unknown creatures can live at great depths, which will also suffer from anthropogenic activities.

THE MOST CHILD-LOVING ANIMALS

Child-loving molluscs

It is hard to believe, but among the mollusks there are species that, although in a rather primitive form, nevertheless take care of their offspring. And the small calyptrea snail, which lives in warm seas at shallow depths, has such amazing qualities.

And although she does not dig holes and does not build nests, she nevertheless does not leave her offspring to the mercy of fate.

The snail mother packs the laid eggs in special capsules, which are then closed with her shell and partially with her foot.

Something similar to the desire to take care of the offspring can be seen in some keeled mollusks. These peculiar maternal instincts are expressed in the fact that the eggs thrown by the female during reproduction are attached to a light cylindrical thread, the end of which is inside the mollusk. That is, it turns out that for some time the eggs continue to swim after the female, thus remaining under her, although not very reliable, but still - protection.

Octopuses demonstrate a special and very responsible attitude towards their offspring. It has long been noticed that the females of these mollusks are very attached to their clutch. And so much so that when they incubate eggs, they starve for many weeks, and even months. Only a few females allow themselves to eat near protected eggs.

These hunger strikes are caused by the need to protect the caviar from contamination. And for this, first of all, there must be clean water. Any organic matter that may rot is immediately removed from the nest. Therefore, fearing that waste can get into the nest from the "dining table", the females are starving. In addition, they constantly wash the masonry with fresh water, spraying it with a jet from a funnel on their body.

Before laying eggs, females look for well-protected and inconspicuous places. Usually for small octopuses, such shelters are oyster shells. First, the octopus eats the owner of the shell, and then climbs inside, sticks to both of its valves and in this position keeps them tightly closed.

There has been a long debate among zoologists about how octopuses manage to open the tightly compressed shells of their prey. But even the Roman naturalist Caius Pliny assumed that the octopus was for a long time next to the oyster shell, waiting for it to open the valves. And, as soon as the mollusk breaks down and opens its “house”, the octopus throws a stone inside. After this maneuver, the mollusk can no longer close the shell flaps, and the octopus first calmly feasts on the hostess, and then settles in her dwelling.

Most scholars have treated this version of Pliny with a fair amount of skepticism. But, when the octopuses were observed in the aquarium, the stone throwing legend had to be recognized as true.

But not only when hunting for oysters, the octopus uses stones. He also uses them in the construction of his nests. In this case, he carries the stones, as well as the shells and shells of the crabs he has eaten, into one heap, makes a depression in it from above, in which he hides.

And in case of a threat, he not only hides in his stone cave, but also covers himself with a large stone from above, like a shield.

Octopuses build their "castles" at night. During construction, they sometimes drag quite massive stones. At least some of them weigh several times more than the animals themselves. In some areas of the seabed, a whole “town” is formed from such nests. One of these settlements was described by the famous aquanaut J. Cousteau:

“On the flat bottom of the shallows to the northeast of the Porquerolles, we attacked the city of octopuses. We could hardly believe our eyes. Scientific data, confirmed by our own observations, suggested that octopuses live in crevices of rocks and reefs. In the meantime, we discovered bizarre buildings, obviously built by the octopuses themselves. A typical design had a roof in the form of a flat stone half a meter long, weighing about eight kilograms.

On one side, the stone rose about twenty centimeters above the ground, supported by a smaller stone and fragments of building bricks. A recess twelve centimeters deep was made inside.

In front of the shed stretched out a shaft of all kinds of construction debris: crab shells, oyster shells, clay shards, stones, as well as sea anemones and urchins.

A long arm protruded from the dwelling, and above the rampart the owl eyes of an octopus looked straight at me. As soon as I approached, a hand moved and pushed the entire barrier towards the entrance. The door closed. We filmed this “house” on color film. The fact that an octopus collects building materials for its house, and then, after lifting a stone slab, puts props under it, allows us to conclude that its brain is highly developed.”

But if octopuses build shelters for themselves and their offspring from stones, then some species of bivalve mollusks make nests from their byssus.

Moreover, from the outside, they encrust them with pebbles, fragments of shells or pieces of seaweed.

Similar “nests” can be built from the threads of their byssus and pieces of algae by some species of the genus Musculus, which is close to modiols.

In such a nest they lay the mucous cords of their oviposition. Moreover, in these nests, the embryos develop without passing through the stage of free-swimming larvae. Thus, in this case, one of the types of care for offspring is evident.

Scallop

Special abilities in this matter are shown by a scallop - a gaping lima. She fastens small fragments of shells, tiny pebbles, pieces of coral with byssus. Then the lima lines the inside of its dwelling with the same thin threads of yarn, turning it into a cozy, bird-like nest.

But one of the snails living on the island of Sangir lays eggs between the bent halves of the leaf; all the manipulations necessary to prepare such a house, the snail does with its foot, and the secreted mucus plays the role of cement here.

Spiders

Although males and females of almost all types of spiders are bloodthirsty predators, nevertheless, they sometimes show parental instincts. Sometimes this is expressed in a rather primitive form, and sometimes in the form of complex forms of parental behavior.

For example, many species of terrestrial webless spiders carry eggs and young on the surface of the body. Moreover, the female invariably performs the role of a caring parent.

Spider with spiders

So, female wolf spiders, widespread in central Europe, carry fertilized eggs in a cobweb, which is attached to the posterior end of the abdomen.

When tiny spiderlings are born, they are not in a hurry to rush into “free swimming through life”, but from the cocoon they move to the mother’s cephalothorax and abdomen, where they stay as long as they live in peace and harmony. But as soon as the spiders get stronger, they gain strength and confidence, quarrels begin to flare up between them more and more often. This leads to the fact that they eventually leave the mother's body and scatter in different directions. It should be said that, although the mother carries spiderlings on her back, she does not feed them and does not pay attention to “related” conflicts either.

But in sea spiders, which are distantly related to land arachnids, the offspring are guarded by males. Their paws are covered with special glands that produce sticky secretions, with the help of which the “father” spiders hold the eggs that the female lays on their limbs.

On the other hand, in one of the species of web spiders - Coelotes terrestris - newborn spiders, having got out of the cocoon, remain in the mother's nest for another 34 days, molting three times during this time. The food for them at this time is the remains from the table of the parent. It could be assumed that the juveniles live on their own, and simply steal food. The mother simply does not pay attention to these actions of her offspring: after all, but her own blood.

But it turns out that this is far from being the case. First, the mother constantly protects her offspring from all sorts of enemies. And to make sure that it is her offspring, she periodically turns the spiders over and feels them with pedipalps. Spiders of other species, and the same size, the female immediately kills.

Secondly, a caring mother regularly feeds her children, offering them prey half-digested with digestive juices. And when hunger hits young spiders, they themselves begin to beg food from their mother. To do this, they shake her with their front paws and pedipalps, and do not calm down until the mother satisfies their desire and places prey in front of them.

Many species of tarantulas also take care of their offspring. This care for babies is expressed in the following. A fertilized female, starting to lay eggs, first spins a cocoon the size of a walnut. Then, several hundred eggs are laid in this cocoon, and their fertilization occurs during their laying, and not during mating, as one might assume. After that, she takes vigilant care of her offspring, carefully airing the mink and protecting the young from predators. Moreover, protecting the offspring, the female becomes quite aggressive.

True, when wandering ants climb into the nest, the spider mother almost instantly leaves her cocoon, and hence the cubs, at the complete disposal of the enemy.

But when such tragic situations do not arise in the life of a female, cubs are soon born with an average paw span of 4-5 millimeters. At first, the babies feed on various small insects, which are always enough near the female's dwelling. In addition, there are many other small creatures in the soil, and tarantulas willingly attack any small animal that they can handle.

However, despite the fact that the mother spider takes care of her cocoon, tolerates the newly appeared offspring in her hole, and may even feed him a little, her care is very short-lived. A few weeks after the babies emerge from the cocoon, and of course by the time of molting, most females will completely ignore their offspring.

In addition to spiders, there are other groups of organisms in the arachnid class, the behavior of which is distinguished by a number of curious features. For example, the parental instincts of haymakers are quite interesting. These creatures have a well-remembered catchy appearance: a short oval body and long, up to 16 centimeters, easily breaking legs.

The harvesters Coniosoma longipes, who live in the caves of the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo, take care of their offspring most diligently. Studying the biology of these arachnids, scientists have found that they reproduce most intensively during the rainy season.

The fertilization process itself lasts only about three minutes, and oviposition takes more than five hours. Moreover, as zoologists suggest, at this time the male does not leave anywhere, being all the time next to his girlfriend. It is possible that at this time he produces one or two additional fertilizations.

After mating, the female lays from 60 to 210 eggs and, like any child-loving mother, protects the entire clutch for two months. The males don't mess around either. They regularly visit females, guard, if necessary, oviposition, and can even perform the functions of females for two weeks. This information was obtained during one of the experiments, when scientists removed the female from the nest.

And the harvesters of Coniosoma longipes act quite reasonably, not leaving masonry to the mercy of fate. The fact is that if the eggs are not guarded, they can be eaten by cave crickets or other harvestmen. They can also be infected with fungi. Finally, they can simply dry out.

True, haymakers do not know how to deal with mold fungi. Therefore, in order to reduce the risk of infection, the female, preparing to lay her eggs, tries to choose a drier place.

Insects

We already know that many invertebrates, when they have offspring, begin to actively care for him. Some species of insects take especially touching care of their miniature "heirs". Some of them build cozy, well-protected nests, others guard their helpless babies for a long time, others feed them, sometimes demonstrating examples of parental dedication.

The female Cuban bug of the yellow triatom takes care of the children in a rather peculiar way. She feeds them with her own blood. They, like lambs a sheep, take their mother in a ring and, having pierced her skin with their proboscises, actively suck out the nutritious juices from her body.

And the gray elasfly bug living in Western Europe behaves with its young children like a hen with chickens.

At first, the female elasmukha, like a mother hen, sits on a laying of eggs, protecting them from enemies. And even the larvae hatched from the eggs, until they get stronger, continue to be under the mother's body for three days. But even after the little bugs that have gained strength spread over the leaf, the mother still does not leave them unattended and tries, on occasion, to collect them in a flock.

In some tropical shield beetles, strongly overgrown elytra serve as shelter for young larvae. During the day, they hide under the elytra of the mother, and at night they crawl to feed.

Curious parental instincts are also characteristic of gravedigger beetles. These insects, as you know, having caught the smell of carrion, immediately flock to the corpse of a small animal and begin to bury it in the ground.

When the corpse finds itself underground at a depth of 6-10 centimeters, and sometimes even half a meter, one pair of beetles remains near it. The female first removes the earth around the dead body, and then digs passages or small niches in the side walls of this corridor, where she immures several dozen eggs.

After that, the female returns to the prey and gnaws a funnel in it, where for several days she regurgitates the digestive juice drop by drop. On about the fifth day, just in time for the tiny larvae to emerge from the testicles, the corpse of a mouse or frog is almost digested. And the mother begins to diligently feed her numerous offspring, like a bird of chicks. And they sit in the recesses on the carrion and vigorously turn their heads, begging for food. And a caring mother visits each larva every 10-30 minutes and satisfies her hunger with drops of a nutrient mixture, which she directs directly into her mouth.

Another unique example of offspring care can be found in Mexico and the southwestern United States. It is there that water bugs belonging to the belostomid family are found. Long-term observations of these insects have shown that in these insects it is not the female who takes care of the offspring, but the male, who takes on his back the load of egg laying, and often from several females.

And then, clinging to the stalk of the reed with four paws, the male resignedly proceeds to perform the responsible function of the hen. At the same time, the bug constantly moves the third pair of hairy legs, driving oxygen-rich water to the masonry.

The incubation period lasts from two to four weeks before the first transparent larval nymph breaks out of the ripe, pinkish shell and sets off on its own.

Caring for their offspring and scarab beetles from the genus cephalodesmis. The time of reproduction for them comes in the spring, and from that time on the shoulders of the male and female fall serious worries about the preparation of food for future offspring. Therefore, both parents devote most of their time to dragging various plant foods into the mink from all over.

scarab beetles

After the reserves in the mink have reached a certain level, only the male is engaged in their further harvesting. The female, on the other hand, begins to process the accumulated provisions in an appropriate way.

When the nutrient mass "ripens", the female molds special hemispherical plates from it, lays eggs in them and closes them with lids of the same shape. And in the end, balls are obtained again.

And from that time on, the female cephalodesmis forever remains in the nest in order to give all her strength to future offspring. When the larvae appear in the cradle balls and begin to absorb the stored food with appetite, the female constantly delivers new portions of food to the growing juveniles, which the male supplies the family with.

When the development of the larva comes to an end and she is ready to start pupation, the mother treats the surface of the ball with a special mixture of her droppings, male droppings and larvae. And after this “plaster” dries up, the ball becomes strong and strong, like a miniature fortress.

Having “sealed” one cradle, the female continues to care for others. True, beetles are not destined to see their offspring. When young beetles are born, the parents are no longer alive.

In earwigs, however, as in many other insects, the first stage in the manifestation of parental concerns is the construction of their own housing, which is an underground nest.

The nest is usually a four to five centimeter deep tunnel dug at an angle, containing two chambers. Occasionally, several earwigs arrange a real hostel, digging several nests under one pebble at once.

When the nest is prepared, the female usually lays 40-50 elongated translucent eggs. Having carefully collected them in a pile, she puts her head and front paws on top of it. In this position, she guards the eggs and attacks anyone who encroaches on them.

“But the earwig is not just a watchman, but also a caring mother. It is worth scattering the eggs, as she will collect them again. If the mink is destroyed, she will dig a new one and drag the eggs there. She also shifts them with changes in humidity and temperature. And she regularly licks the eggs and cleans them with her paws. Radioactive labels injected into the female invariably end up in the eggs. Perhaps in this way she transfers some substances necessary to the offspring inside the eggs. In any case, without her care, the eggs die, affected by mold fungi. (S.V. Volovnik. Parental concerns of leatherwings. Chemistry and Life, No. 8, 1987.)

When the time of hatching approaches, the female, in order to make it easier for the fry to get free, carefully lays out the swollen eggs in one layer.

And finally, tiny, pale and wingless larvae are born. But it is already easy to recognize future earwigs in them. The hatching process usually stretches for a whole day, at least two.

“The larvae initially hold in a loose lump, and the mother takes her usual sentry posture. Everyone licks regularly. The most lively, trying to escape, gently takes the jaws and returns to the general heap. Lick each other and the larvae. But what is the significance of this phenomenon? - while scientists can not say.

But sit, don't sit, and the kids want to eat. The nest is printed. At night, as soon as it gets dark, the female goes in search of food. From this moment, her forced fasting also stops. She feeds herself and brings food to the nest.

It is assumed that the mother performs the duties of not only a freight forwarder, but also a direct breadwinner. In any case, from time to time the larvae stuff their mouths into the mouth of the parent. Probably, the female supplies the larvae with semi-digested food, which she regurgitates. Such feeding sometimes lasts up to a minute.

Having matured and strengthened, the larvae go in search of food with their mother. They feed independently of each other, whoever is lucky, but after a night hike the whole company returns to the hole. This goes on for about two weeks. But then the craving for the house weakens, the larvae settle and begin to live on their own. (S.V. Volovnik. Ibid.)

In its own way, it takes care of the future children of the wasp-ammophila. First, she digs a shallow hole in the ground. When the shelter is ready, the wasp begins to search for naked caterpillars, which in the future will satisfy the hunger of its larvae. Having found the victim, the wasp paralyzes it with several sting injections into the central nerve nodes. And although the caterpillar stops all movement, nevertheless it does not die. And this means that the supply of food for offspring will remain fresh for a long time - sometimes up to four weeks.

Having paralyzed the prey, the wasp drags it to the mink. To get to the place, she sometimes has to overcome quite a considerable distance. In search of a nest, the insect is guided by barely noticeable bushes of grass, small pebbles, small trees and other signs, the location of which she remembered exactly when she flew out to hunt.

Having reached the place, the wasp opens a disguised entrance to the mink, and then, having positioned the caterpillar so that it is convenient to move with it, drags the prey into the nest and lays one egg on its body. After that, getting out, she seals the entrance again.

But the worries of the female do not end there. The mother wasp continues to provide her offspring with food. She usually looks after several nests at the same time. In the morning, she visits the burrows that have not yet been completely sealed and checks if everything is fine in them.

When the larva hatches from the egg, the ammophila first supplies it with several paralyzed caterpillars, and then finally seals the nest. At the same time, for better camouflage, she carefully levels the sand over the entrance with her head.

Fish

Most fish are practically not worried about the future of their offspring. Having spawned, the females immediately forget about it. And only chance decides what will become of each of the eggs in the future. But since the life of most fish is surrounded by numerous enemies, the vast majority of fish offspring do not survive to puberty.

But, in addition to predators, various natural elements also threaten caviar: they are thrown ashore by waves, they dry out or suffocate from a lack of oxygen when water bodies become shallow.

However, among the fish there are still species that show considerable concern for their offspring.

A safe haven for caviar is found by small fish - blennies. Usually, voids between stones or orphan shells of mollusks serve as such. And then the laid eggs are selflessly guarded by the male, who does not leave her even when the reservoir begins to dry up and the eggs end up on the shore.

But the marine fish Careproctus, which inhabits the coastal waters of Kamchatka, with the help of a long tube, which it grows before spawning, injects eggs into the crab's peribranchial cavity. Here, the future offspring is in complete safety and in especially favorable oxygen conditions for development.

Even greater concern for offspring is shown by the male lumpfish, or, as it is often called, the sea sparrow. This is a rather large fish: up to 60 centimeters long and up to 5 kilograms in weight. The lumpfish lives in the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Europe and America.

The male lumpfish looks after the eggs until the larvae are born.

This fish spawns in the coastal zone, laying clumps of caviar on the stones. And then, with a “clear conscience”, he sails into the endless oceanic distances. But nevertheless, the eggs are not left unattended: all worries about the offspring now fall on the “shoulders” of the male. And he performs his parental duties with the utmost responsibility. Attached with a special suction cup to the stone, the lumpfish does not leave tiny living balls unattended for a moment. When, at low tide, the eggs are on land, the male sprinkles them with water, which he takes into the stomach. And the caring father continues to look after the eggs until the larvae are born. But at first they also stay close to their father and, at the slightest alarm, rush to their father to cling to his body.

Do not leave their offspring to the mercy of fate and the Amur killer whale-skripuny fish. To create favorable conditions for the development of offspring, they dig holes in the coastal soil, the depth of which reaches 15-20 centimeters. And then eggs are laid in these mini-tunnels. Killer whales live in huge colonies. Sometimes over twenty fish settle on one square meter, and the entire area of ​​​​the colony sometimes occupies several tens of hectares. Males are near the entrance to their burrows and constantly flap their fins to provide fresh water to the eggs.

Developed parental instincts are also demonstrated by South American Acara fish. Before spawning, the female finds a flat stone, the color of which would match the color of the eggs. Then, having previously cleared the pebble of debris, she lays eggs on it. Having completed spawning, the male and female are located next to the eggs and, like fans, wave their fins over it, thereby ensuring the supply of fresh water.

The hatched larvae are carried by the parents in the mouth into holes that are dug in the sand in advance. Having delivered all the juveniles to a safe shelter, the male and female continue to be near the nest. They carefully observe the surrounding space, and, in the event of a predator appearing, they boldly rush at it, protecting their offspring. When the larvae grow up, the parents regularly take walks with them, during which a clear order is observed: the mother moves in front, a flock of fry follows her, and the father swims behind, controlling the situation.

And the female aspredo catfish, which lives in the Amazon, first lays eggs on the sand and waits for the male to pour milk on it. Then she lays flat on them and smears them on her belly. Subsequently, each egg grows to the belly with a special stalk, through which it receives nutrients from the mother's body.

The females of small, living in Baikal, viviparous deep-sea golomyanka fish end their lives tragically. When the time for spawning comes, the female floats to the surface. At the same time, due to a sharp drop in pressure, her abdomen bursts, and tiny larvae emerge from it. Naturally, after such an injury, the mother dies, but the young gain freedom.

But telapia and taplochromis hatch eggs in their mouths. Having stuffed her mouth with eggs, of which sometimes there are about four hundred, the female hides in a thicket and does not eat anything for two weeks, she only breathes heavily and from time to time turns the eggs in her mouth so that they develop better. Even after the fry are born, they do not sail far from the mother for another five days and, in case of danger, hide in her mouth.

Cardinal fish also carry eggs in their mouths. Most often this is done by males, but sometimes by females.

Females of the blind-eyed bear eggs in the gill cavity. These fish live in the reservoirs of North American karst caves. The length of these fish is not more than 12 centimeters. But they have a rather voluminous gill cavity, and the gill filaments are very small, which allows the eggs to feel quite comfortable. In addition, there are a lot of them in this unique nest: some females had several dozen eggs in the gill cavity, from which 9-mm fry hatched two months later.

In the Mediterranean apogon, maturation of eggs also occurs in the gill cavity, but not of the female, but of the male. The eggs of this species are small and numerous, sometimes up to 20 thousand in a clutch. The reason for this is probably that the parents do not care about the larvae and fry at all.

Does not leave to the mercy of fate caviar and lepidosiren, or American flake, living in the central part of South America.

When a drought sets in, lepidosiren arranges a nest at the bottom of the reservoir, in which it waits out unfavorable conditions.

When times improve, the flake returns to its former life. And after two or three weeks, he already begins to multiply. But first, lepidosiren digs a hole, the depth of which reaches 1.5 meters and the width is 15-20 centimeters. This burrow first goes into the ground vertically, and then bends and stretches horizontally, ending with an expansion, which the flake turns into a brood chamber. Here the female takes down dead leaves and grass, and then lays rather large eggs, 6.5-7.0 mm in diameter. And this is where her duties end: in the future, the male is engaged in guarding the nest and offspring. And he approaches this matter very responsibly.

During spawning, numerous branching outgrowths with many blood vessels inside appear on the ventral fins of the male. The average length of these formations is 5-8 centimeters. But after the male leaves the nest, these outgrowths disappear, and only small papillae remain after them. But what is their function? - hard to say.

Some zoologists suggest that oxygen enters the water through these outgrowths, which means that more favorable conditions are created for the development of offspring.

Other researchers believe that these outgrowths perform the function of additional gills, since the male does not get out of the hole, and therefore does not have the opportunity to breathe air.

An important role in improving the environmental conditions for developing eggs and larvae is also played by the mucus covering the body of the flake. It has a coagulating effect, thanks to which it actively purifies water from litter and turbidity.

After hatching from eggs, the larvae stick to the walls of the nest with the help of a cement gland. In this state, they spend about two months, that is, until the yolk sac resolves. By this time, they begin to breathe atmospheric air. Having reached a length of 50 millimeters, they set off for free swimming.

And the male, having spent a long hibernation on a starvation ration, and then guarding the nest, begins to eat heavily.

In addition to building nesting chambers and protecting offspring from predators and adverse conditions, some fish even feed hatched larvae with special secretions - a kind of fish milk.

So, in the Amazon there is a disc fish, which has glands on the sides that resemble milk. Typically, fish fry feed on microscopic algae, ciliates, daphnia, cyclops and other organisms. And the juveniles of this fish, immediately after being born, swim up to the mother fish and feed on liquid - a kind of "milk", which is secreted from the skin glands and immediately freezes. It is this crust that the fry feed on.

And in stingrays, cubs develop in the mother's womb. Here they, too, except for the yolk of eggs, feed on a milk-like liquid. Its special outgrowths are distinguished, which are located on the walls of the "womb". They penetrate the spatters (holes behind the eyes) of the embryos, and therefore the mother's "milk" goes directly into their digestive tract.

In a special bag, the male seahorse bears eggs and juveniles. When the time for spawning comes, he presses the bottom of the bag with his tail, opens the hole, and the female carefully lowers several eggs into it.

After the laying is completed, in which there are from 100 to 500 eggs, the bag overgrows and becomes impervious to water. From the inside, it is lined with a special tissue permeated with blood vessels. Caviar develops in this amazing incubator for about a month, receiving oxygen and other necessary substances from the father's blood.

Real records in the care of offspring are demonstrated by some amphibians. Sometimes it’s even hard to believe that these phlegmatic creatures can take care of their babies so touchingly.

For example, the midwife toad, which is widespread in Western Europe, pays a lot of attention to its offspring, especially at the stage of eggs. True, although it is not uncommon in this region, it can only be seen at night, since during the day this amphibian hides in various secluded places: burrows, caves, under stones, etc.

In March - April, midwife toads have weddings. And when, during these solemn ceremonies, the female lays eggs collected in long (more than a meter) slimy cords, the male immediately wraps it around his thighs. This procedure lasts about half an hour.

Male midwife toad with eggs

Then, burdened with a precious burden, the male jumps to some damp and secluded place for three weeks, and then waits for a month and a half when the time comes to hatch the tadpoles. And when this hour "x" comes, the male goes to the nearest reservoir. There he lowers the rear part of the body, covered with eggs, into the water and waits for his heirs, miniature tadpoles, to get out of the eggs. After that, the male can calmly satisfy his hunger.

Pipa demonstrates amazing parental talents - a large toad about twenty centimeters long and flat, as if a car drove over it. Her facial part is sharp, her eyes are tiny, her skin is gray-brown. This amphibian lives in South America in small and large rivers, in small puddles and even in gutters.

And this outwardly unremarkable creature is, esteem, the most interesting of the amphibians now living on Earth. It turns out that this tropical toad shows a unique care for its offspring.

And this amazing process begins with the tenacious hugs of the male during mating games, which resemble vertical acrobatic pirouettes or round dances. About three hours after the first embrace of the beloved, the skin on the back of the female begins to swell and becomes soft and loose, like a sponge. During the "love dances" fertilized eggs immediately fall on the back of the female and stick.

After that, day after day, they sink deeper and deeper into the skin of the back, which, swelling, surrounds the eggs on all sides, like miniature thimble. These partitions are very thin and richly filled with a dense network of blood vessels through which the developing juveniles receive nutrients and moisture. The upper part of the eggs, protruding above the surface of the skin, hardens and forms, as it were, small translucent convex domes.

Two and a half months after the mating games, a barely noticeable movement finally begins on the pipa's cellular back: here and there the lids rise, and miniature heads or tiny paws look out from under them. At this time, the little one not only admires the world around her, but also hunts daphnia, cyclops and other water trifles.

And after another one and a half to two weeks, the young, but already grown up (up to two centimeters in length) and strengthened juveniles of the pipa parted with their mother. At the same time, the children are almost a complete copy of it, only reduced several times.

Incredibly touching care for offspring is shown by the egg-bearing marsupial tree frog, which lives in Venezuela and neighboring countries. Scientists have known about this amazing phenomenon for a long time, but they could not explain how the eggs get into the female's bag, which is on her back. But once the scientist Mertens nevertheless saw this event with his own eyes.

Here is how the well-known popularizer of science Igor Akimushkin describes this process: “The female, having risen on her hind legs, tilted her body forward in a slide (at an angle of 30 degrees). Her cloaca stretched upwards, and the first white testicle rolled out of her like a pea and immediately slid forward and down her wet back. It rolled under the male, which had established itself on the female, and disappeared into the gap of the brood bag. In this way, in an hour and a half, 20 eggs were placed in a tightly stuffed "pocket" on the frog's back. Here they complete their full development, and in May the frogs crawl out of the pocket.

And this unique frog, which can also rightfully claim the title of champion, lives in southern Brazil and Argentina. She is called a blacksmith. Indeed, her loud cries, which she emits all night long, are in many ways similar to hammer blows on metal. Although still the name "potter" is more suitable for her. Judge for yourself.

In February, when the breeding season comes, somewhere in a quiet river backwater, the male starts building a mini-pool for his future offspring.

First, he lays the foundation: with the help of paws, he molds a wide ring with a diameter of thirty centimeters from the mud.

Then, over the foundation, like a crater, he builds a ten-centimeter wall: he lifts silt and clay from the bottom on his head and, with the help of wide suction cups on his fingers, puts them into an annular shaft. At the same time, he constantly polishes the structure from the inside with his paws and chest.

Only the male works, while the female sits completely silently on his back all this time. The tree frog is engaged in construction only in the dark.

When the walls of the tower, on which the male has been working for two nights, rise ten centimeters above the water, he quits work, and the female starts laying eggs inside a small closed pool.

After 4-5 days, tiny tadpoles appear from the eggs. They have feathery and unusually large gills. This is understandable: there is little oxygen in bowl-shaped aquariums, so with small gills here it will not take long to suffocate. But with large ones, it is much easier to breathe. In addition, gills such as life belts raise tadpoles to the very edge of the water, where there is always more oxygen.

This is how tree frogs live inside the boarding house until they grow up. It's not easy for predators to find them here. Like a Chinese wall, the frog fenced off its offspring from the threats of the hostile world of the river backwater.

Spawning in the Javan Copefoot Frog occurs in trees. This process includes two operations carried out simultaneously: the release of eggs and a special mucous liquid, which the female turns into a lump of thick foam with her hind legs. Then the female surrounds the resulting mass with interspersed eggs from all sides with leaves.

The lump of foam is white at first, but soon darkens and dries up. Inside, it gradually, as the eggs develop, becomes liquid. In this original way, a mini-reservoir appears, in which tadpoles live and develop until they turn into “normal” frogs. And in order not to pollute the liquid surrounding them, tadpoles for the time being detain their excrement in the intestines.

Among the most caring amphibians, one cannot fail to mention Darwin's rhinoderm, a small three-centimeter frog that lives in Chile.

When the time comes to acquire offspring, and this happens in December - February, the male's resonator turns from a musical instrument into a real incubator.

And this metamorphosis occurs as follows. First, the female lays eggs, and not in a bunch, but one or several in different places. One or more males immediately appear near them and begin to wait for the embryos to stir in the eggs. As soon as this happens, the males rush to the embryos and, having picked up the tongue, swallow. But they are sent not to the stomach, but to the resonator - through two holes on the side under the tongue.

The resonator is small at first, and the eggs are large, so at first it does not accept more than two eggs. But under their weight, it expands and is soon ready to receive the next batch of eggs. Males look for new clutches and send them there, but not just to resonators, but to resonators-incubators. In a few days, each male can collect five, ten, and twenty eggs. Who cares.

And then tadpoles emerge from the eggs. They grow quickly, and the resonator grows with them, penetrating under the skin of the father's abdomen, and if there are a lot of eggs, then under the skin of the back and sides.

First, the tadpoles feed on the yolk of the eggs. But these stocks will soon run out. And then the tadpoles turn their backs to the walls of the vocal sac and fuse with them.

Now the cubs are provided with food. They will turn into frogs - they will part with their father. And the father, until he raises children, does not take crumbs in his mouth. And during this time he loses a lot of weight.

Dart frogs are small, living in South America, and also show curious manners of caring for their offspring.

During the breeding season, these amphibians first attach each of their eggs to the leaves of trees. But they do not leave them unattended, but visit them from time to time, moistening them with water stored in the resonator.

When the tadpoles hatch from the eggs, they climb onto the back of the mother, who must deliver them to the axils of the leaves of bromeliads, where enough rainwater accumulates for development. In search of a suitable place, a caring mother can climb even a twelve-meter height. And when he finds the right mini-pond and makes sure that he is not busy, he lowers his baby there.

But since there is nothing to gain weight in a miniature pond, the mother, so that the baby does not starve, supplies him with unfertilized caviar.

If the female, for example, has four tadpoles, she visits them one by one. That is, each baby receives food on average once every four days.

Approaching the cub, the mother dives into the water and stays there for about five minutes. During this time, she gives the baby a portion of three, and sometimes seven eggs for the next three days.

But rheobatrachus silus - a small five-centimeter frog from the reservoirs of South Queensland - bears cubs in. own stomach. And although the frog does not eat all this time, it does absolutely no harm to its offspring! And there is a reason for this. The fact is that after rheobatrachus swallows caviar, the surface layer of the gastric mucosa becomes flat, and in the cells that produce hydrochloric acid, the number of outgrowths is reduced to a minimum. The tadpoles themselves are also worried about their own safety. They produce a special substance that inhibits the release of hydrochloric acid.

The egg-laying worm Boulengerula taitanus, which lives in Kenya, takes special care of its children. It turns out that her juveniles eat the mother's skin, which by this time becomes loose and soft. In addition, the number of fatty inclusions in the cells of the skin epithelium increases many times over.

The baby crawls over the mother's body, pressing his head against her skin, and tears off the upper layer of the epithelium with the help of the lower jaw, armed with small sharp teeth. The autopsy of freshly captured cubs showed that the contents of their stomachs consisted exclusively of fragments of the mother's skin. This means that they do not receive any other food at this time.

True, such “feeding” of the mother is quite expensive: after all, in a week she loses about 14% of her weight. At the same time, the cubs during this period grow in length by as much as 11%.

reptiles

Although reptiles are considered more developed than amphibians, organisms, nevertheless, they take care of their offspring much worse than amphibians. At least, such complex parental forms of behavior, as, for example, in pipa, have not been noticed in them.

And yet, some reptiles show some concern for their babies. For example, crocodiles. These reptiles are known to reproduce by eggs. But they are not left to the mercy of fate, but before laying they build nests where eggs are laid. And when little crocodiles appear from them, they selflessly protect them.

So, caimans, before starting to lay eggs, rake up small mounds of earth and grassy vegetation. In the center of this heap, the female places the eggs. The temperature in this incubator must be at least 28 degrees, otherwise the eggs will die. Gradually rotting grass releases heat, which contributes to the normal development of eggs. So to some extent, crocodile nests are incubators, like weed chicken incubators.

Caiman nest with eggs

Another oddity in crocodiles: the formation of the sex of the offspring. Whether boys or girls will hatch does not depend on chromosomes, but on the temperature of the nest in the first weeks of egg development. If the temperature is more than 32 degrees, there will be only males; if below 31 degrees - only females. In the range between 31 and 32 degrees, both are born. Temperature also affects the color and pattern of skin in young crocodiles.

In the Nile crocodile, when the offspring is ready to leave the egg, it notifies the parents with squeaky sounds. Having heard a signal for help, the mother breaks the nest, takes the egg in her mouth and slightly presses on the shell with her teeth, thereby helping the baby to get out into the world faster.

Then she picks up to a dozen still helpless babies into her mouth and transfers them to special ponds fenced off from the river. In such "nurseries" under the strict supervision of the parent, the further development of young crocodiles takes place.

But, of course, the mother is not able to look after the offspring for a long time. And the children, after all, have to leave the parental nest in two months. And they are still very small. And the first meeting with the harsh reality for many of them may soon be the last. And in order to save their lives, young crocodiles hide in burrows, where they sit almost hopelessly for months. And even if at this time their stomachs are half empty, but life is safe.

They dig holes with their powerful jaws, biting their teeth, like excavators with a bucket, into the coastal steep, right above the water itself. They will tear off a piece of land and, without opening their jaws, they will dive. They will open their mouths in the water, shake their heads so that the water will wash away the sand, and again return to the work they have begun. Often crocodiles work as a group. Together they make the shelter longer - two meters, and that four or five. In it, the company of young crocodiles and wait out the difficult times of childhood.

But of the snakes, which rarely takes care of children. But not the king cobra. In this reptile, when the time comes to acquire offspring, the abilities of a real builder begin to appear. Indeed, she is building not just a shelter, but a whole mansion on two levels with a diameter of about a meter.

The first floor serves as something like a nursery: eggs lie on a thick layer of leaves. The second floor, separated from the first by an overlap of leaves and branches, is the parent one. Here lies a mother cobra who guards the eggs. The male also carries out guard duty, however, somewhere not far away.

Like snakes, most turtles after laying eggs lose all interest in them and practically do not care about offspring.

But there are some exceptions to this rule. For example, the brown turtle, a fairly large species that lives in Southeast Asia - from northeast India to Sumatra and western Kalimantan. The females of this turtle build a special nest for their eggs and guard it until the cubs hatch.

The Bahamian ornamented tortoise also takes care of its helpless babies in a certain way. Zoologists have repeatedly observed how the female of this species, when the time came for the birth of turtles, looked for masonry and dug it with her front paws, making it easier for the cubs to go free.

From the book Unexplained Phenomena author

THE MOST FIRST PEOPLE? According to the popular paleontological theory, man has existed on Earth for only one or two million years. But certain archaeological finds in North America indicate that human beings, or at least

From the book The Newest Book of Facts. Volume 1 [Astronomy and astrophysics. Geography and other earth sciences. Biology and Medicine] author

Which planet in the solar system has the largest mountains and which has the deepest depressions? In both of these "nominations" the record holder in the solar system is Mars. On this planet is the largest mountain in the solar system - the extinct volcano Olympus. He has

From the book 3333 tricky questions and answers author Kondrashov Anatoly Pavlovich

From the book 100 Great Wildlife Records author Nepomniachtchi Nikolai Nikolaevich

Which of the planets in the solar system has the longest day and which has the shortest? The longest day is at small Mercury, where their duration (the time interval between two successive sunrises) is 176 Earth days, or two

From the book Biology [A complete guide to preparing for the exam] author Lerner Georgy Isaakovich

THE MOST HIGH-MOUNTAIN ANIMALS - YAKs Yaks (Bos mutus) live in treeless deserts, climbing mountains to a height of up to 5200 m. They are found in Tibet, they enter Russia as far as Altai and Sayan Mountains. Possessing a well-developed sense of smell, they have poor vision and hearing. In case of danger,

From the book The Newest Book of Facts. Volume 1. Astronomy and astrophysics. Geography and other earth sciences. Biology and medicine author Kondrashov Anatoly Pavlovich

4.6. Kingdom Animals. The main features of the subkingdoms of unicellular and multicellular animals. Unicellular and invertebrate animals, their classification, features of structure and life, role in nature and human life. Characteristics of the main types

From the book 100 Great Animal Records author Bernatsky Anatoly

From the book Handbook of a real man author Kashkarov Andrey Petrovich

From the book Universal Encyclopedic Reference author Isaeva E. L.

THE SMARTEST ANIMALS Brain Records It's hard to believe that this Gnathonemus fish is the most "brainy". It turns out that its brain weight is 3.1 percent of body weight, while in humans this figure is 2-2.5 percent. And most of

From the book Animal World author Sitnikov Vitaly Pavlovich

THE MOST RARE AND ANCIENT ANIMALS Exotic Animals Among the many hundreds of sciences that study living matter, cryptozoology also occupies a certain place. Scientists involved in this field of research are purposefully looking for animals whose existence is not

From the book The World Around Us author Sitnikov Vitaly Pavlovich

From the book of 666 ridiculous deaths that have gone down in history. Darwin award rest by Shrag V.

Animals Animals Animals AgoutiAnoaAntelopeBandicootBehemothBetongBisonBinturongBeaverMountain SheepSnow SheepSnow LeopardCommon SquirrelSquirrel PrevostBeaver West SiberianBeaver BonoboArmadilloBuffalo Shrew

From the author's book

Where do the largest and most venomous snakes live? There is a saying: "Fear has big eyes." The same can be said about all the legends that exist about snakes. So, they say that huge snakes live somewhere, up to 20 meters or more. But no one really

From the author's book

What are the largest animals? We can only compare what we see, so it seems to us that the largest animal on Earth is an elephant. An elephant is indeed a very large animal. Some of the elephants are up to 3.5 meters tall and weigh over 5 tons. Next to the elephant

From the author's book

What lakes are the best? All lakes are not the same. Each of them has its own peculiarity. One is extraordinarily beautiful, another has a lot of fish, and the third is famous for something else. But there are lakes that differ from all others and are, for some reason,

Smart sea chameleons are octopuses or octopuses! “Octopus - what a horror! - Sucks you out. He pulls you towards him, and into himself; you, bound, glued, feel like you are slowly swallowed by this monster. (Victor Hugo, Toilers of the Sea). Octopuses, or octopuses, have a bad reputation as underwater monsters.

Ancient legends and fantasy stories like this passage from Victor Hugo's novel portray octopuses in a very unattractive light.

Octopuses and octopuses - sea chameleons

But in fact, even such a giant as the Pacific octopus can be up to 6 meters long and weigh almost 50 kilograms, which is usually not formidable for a person.

In recent years, various fictions and tales about octopuses as "monsters" have given way to true eyewitness accounts - divers and ocean biologists who are engaged in research on these quick-witted marine chameleons.

How octopuses hunt

Octopuses don't eat people. These sea creatures feed mostly on crustaceans. To catch prey, they use their eight tentacles and 1,600 muscular suckers. A small octopus, using suction cups, can drag an object 20 times heavier than itself! Some octopuses have strong venom. During the hunt, the octopus almost instantly paralyzes its prey, and then calmly pushes it into the mouth, which has beak-like jaws.

But what if the octopus sees someone wanting to catch it? These creatures have one drawback: their blue blood contains hemocyanin instead of hemoglobin. Such blood does not carry oxygen well, so octopuses quickly get tired. And yet they manage to deftly escape from whales, seals and other predators.

How do octopuses defend themselves?

First, their “jet engine” comes to their aid. When the octopus sees danger, it abruptly ejects water from the cavity of its body, and the reactive force formed in this way pushes it back - away from the enemy.

This cautious creature can also resort to another trick: shoot a cloud of inky liquid at the attacker. This dye contains a pigment that is poorly soluble in sea water. Therefore, while the puffs of "smoke" disperse, the octopus has the opportunity to quietly slip to a safe place.

Octopuses are skilled camouflage

The octopus does not like to be chased by predators - he prefers to hide. How he does it? The famous underwater explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau wrote: “In the coastal waters of Marseilles, we started shooting a film about octopuses.

However, most of our divers reported that there were no octopuses there at all, and if they were once, they have now disappeared somewhere. But in fact, divers sailed near them but did not notice them, because they know how to skillfully disguise themselves. What helps octopuses become almost invisible?

Adult octopuses have about two million chromatophores, which means that on average there are up to 200 of these pigment cells per square millimeter of body surface. Each such cell contains a red, yellow or black pigment. When an octopus relaxes or tenses the muscles around the chromatophores, it can almost instantly change color, even form various patterns on itself.

Oddly enough, but it seems that the eyes of the octopus do not distinguish colors. However, he can "paint" himself in more than just three colors. And this is because iridocytes, cells with mirror crystals, reflect light, and the body of the octopus gains color in the bottom area on which it is located. And that is not all. When hiding in a coral reef, it can even roughen its smooth skin into spikes to blend into the uneven surface of the coral.

Octopuses and octopuses are conscientious builders

Since octopuses like to hide, they build their houses in such a way that they are difficult to find. Basically, they build their dwellings in various cracks or under rocky ledges. The roof and walls are made from stone, pieces of metal, shells, and even from the remains of ships and boats, or from various rubbish.

Having such a house, the octopus becomes a good owner. With jets of water from his "jet engine", he smoothes the sandy floor. And after eating, all the leftovers are thrown out of the house.

Somehow, divers from the Cousteau team decided to check whether the octopus really does a good job in the house. For this, several stones were taken from the wall of his dwelling. What did the owner do? Finding suitable cobblestones, he gradually built a wall!

Cousteau wrote: “Octopus worked until he restored what was destroyed. His cabin looked exactly the same, as did the interventions of the divers.” Indeed, octopuses are known for being able to build their own dwellings well and keep them in order. When divers see an octopus house full of rubbish, they know that no one lives there.

Octopuses and octopuses - breeding

The last and most important home in the life of a female octopus is the place where her offspring is born. Having received sperm from the male, the female retains it in her body until the caviar matures and becomes ready for fertilization. However, all that time she does not sit idly by, but spends several weeks looking for a suitable place for a nest.

When the house is ready, the female attaches a bunch of thousands of eggs to the ceiling. Only blue-winged octopuses don't make houses. Their bright coloring warns predators: our bite is very poisonous. Therefore, females prefer to take care of their offspring in open areas.

Female octopuses are caring mothers! After laying eggs, mother octopus stops eating because new responsibilities have appeared. She relentlessly protects, cleans and rinses the eggs, repairs her nest, and when predators swim up, she assumes a threatening posture and drives them away.

The female takes care of the eggs until little octopuses come out of them. After that, she dies. Cousteau once said about this: "Nobody has yet seen a female octopus leave her caviar."

Newborn octopuses of most species float to the surface of the sea and become part of the plankton. Many of them will be eaten by other sea creatures. But after a few weeks, the survivors will return to the bottom and gradually turn into adult octopuses. Their life expectancy is almost three years.

Are octopuses smart and savvy?

Some believe that if we talk about an animal as “smart”, then this only applies to its ability to learn from its own experience and the ability to overcome some kind of difficulties.

And here is what Cousteau said about this: “Octopuses are shy, and this is precisely their “wisdom”. For them, it all comes down to caution and prudence ... If a diver manages to show that he is not a threat, then the octopus quickly, even faster than other "wild" animals, forgets about his fearfulness».

Among invertebrates, octopuses have the most developed brain and eyes. Eyes, like ours, can focus accurately and respond to changes in light. The area of ​​the brain responsible for vision deciphers the signals coming from the eyes, and together with the wonderful sense of touch, helps the octopus make amazingly wise decisions.

Researchers have reported that octopuses even manage to open bottles to get their favorite dish - shellfish. It is said that the octopus can learn to unscrew the lid on the jar to get food from it. And the octopus from the Vancouver Aquarium (Canada) every night made its way through the drainage pipe to neighboring reservoirs and caught fish there.

In the book Exploration of the Secrets of Nature (English), about the ingenuity of octopuses, it is written: “We used to think that primates are intelligent among animals. But there is a lot of evidence that octopuses are also among the smart animals.” These creatures are a real wonder. Both scientists and divers, unlike Victor Hugo, no longer use the word “horror” about them.

Those who study octopuses have every reason to admire and wonder at this quick-witted marine chameleon.

How Octopuses Reproduce September 23rd, 2016

a photo

Scientists have long established that almost all cephalopods, except for nautilus (Nautilus) and argonaut octopuses (Argonauta) - the only modern genus living in the open seas, mate and breed once in a lifetime. After the onset of reproductive age, octopuses begin to look for a partner, and until that moment they prefer to live separately from their relatives.

So how do octopuses reproduce?

In adult males, “packages” with sperm develop in the mantle cavity by this time (in cephalopods they are called spermatophores), which, during the breeding season, are carried out through the funnel along with water jets. During mating, the male holds the female with his tentacle hand, and introduces the spermatophores into the female's mantle cavity with a special sexual tentacle.

Researchers have noticed very interesting facts about the reproduction of octopuses. Namely, during breeding, males of some species try to mate with any member of their genus, regardless of gender and age. Of course, the eggs in this case will not be fertilized, and the mating process itself is not as long as with a female of a suitable age. For example, in the blue-ringed octopus, mating continues until the female gets bored and she forces herself to tear off the overexcited male from herself.

Even more unusual is mating in argonaut octopuses.

They have well developed sexual dimorphism. Females are larger than males. They have a single-chamber shell, therefore they are sometimes confused with nautiluses, and the male does not have such a shell, but there is a sexual tentacle called a hectocotylus. It develops in a special pouch between the fourth and second arms of the left side. The female uses the shell as a brood chamber, where she lays her fertilized eggs.

Some describe it like this: Males of this species are not destined to experience satisfaction. All because nature endowed them with a very strange penis. After the octopus produces a sufficient amount of seminal fluid, the organ miraculously separates from the body and swims into the depths of the sea in search of a suitable female argonaut octopus. The ex-owner can only watch how his reproductive organ mates with the "beautiful mate". Nature did not stop there. And made this process closed. After a while, the penis grows back. Further it is not difficult to guess. And you say no long distance relationship :)"

But it's still a tentacle. In an adult male, the tentacle is separated from the body when meeting with the female, and this tentacle worm independently penetrates into her mantle cavity, where the spermatophores burst, and the liquid from them fertilizes the eggs.

Most species of octopus lay their eggs at night, at one time. For spawning, some females choose cavities or burrows in rocks, gluing masonry to the ceiling or walls, while others prefer to carry a bunch of eggs glued together with them. But both constantly check and guard their eggs until the moment of offspring.

The duration of egg development during the reproduction of octopuses is different, on average up to 4-6 months, but sometimes it can reach a year, and in rare cases several years. All this time, the female octopus incubates eggs, does not hunt or eat. Studies have shown that before reproduction, octopuses undergo a restructuring of the body, shortly before spawning, they stop producing the enzymes necessary for digesting food. Shortly after the emergence of juveniles from eggs, the female dies, and newborn octopuses are able to take care of themselves.

Although periodically there are reports of the possibility of re-spawning in nature in some octopuses, this has not yet been documented. However, while keeping an octopus in a home aquarium, the Panamanian zoologist A. Rodaniche managed to obtain twice offspring from females of the small Pacific octopus (Octopus chierchiae), on the basis of which he concluded that among the octopuses that are found off the coast of the Gulf of Panama, one, or even three species able to mate and reproduce repeatedly.

sources