BBC Wildlife - UK (2020-04)

26 BBC Wildlife April 2020

WILDNEWS

IN NUMBERS

55

istheastonishingnumberof

bluewhalescountedduringa

recentsurveyaroundtheisland

ofSouthGeorgia.

110

peoplehaveformedtheUK’s

firstcitizen’sassemblytomake

recommendationsforhowthe

UKcanbestachievenetzero

emissionsby2050.

2

gnatspeciesneverbeforeseen

intheUKhavebeendiscovered

ina forestinLochaber,Scotland.

Boletinagusakovaeand

Mycetophilaidoneaareusually

found in mainland Europe.

NEW SPECIESDISCOVERY

FINDOUTMORE

Zoologia:bit.ly/2Sxg2Ea

WHATISIT?Likeallleafhoppers,

thiscolourfulnewspecies

isequippedwithpiercing

mouthparts,whichit usesto

tapsapfromplantstems.It’s

a memberofa groupknownas

sharpshooters,astheyfireexcess

plant sap from their rear ends.

WHEREISIT?Discoveredinthe

mountainousregionofItatiaia

NationalPark,southeasternBrazil,it

isoneofonlytwoleafhopperspecies

knowntofeedonbromeliads,which

arenotoriouslynon-nutritious.Ten

specimenshavebeencollectedsofar,

thoughthreewerelostina fireatthe

National Museum of Brazil in 2018.SB

Cavichiana

alpine

Sealion: Gabriel Rojo/naturepl.com; leafhopper: Gabriel Mejdalani

Theleafhoppers

areabout8mm

in size.

Andrelax...

PINNIPEDS

Y

awnstendtostrikeinmoments

oftediumorsleepiness.

Buttheseinvoluntarymuscle

contractions,involvinganopen

mouthanda deepintakeofbreath,

areanythingbutboring.They

occurinallsortsofanimals,from

budgiestobaboons,andhavebeen

linkedtoa rangeoffunctions,

fromstimulatingalertnessto

co-ordinatinggroupbehaviour.In

SouthAmericansealions,according

tonewresearch,yawningseems

tobea signalofanxiety,occurring

afteraggressiveinteractions

betweenindividuals.

“Ourdatashowthat,justafteran

agonisticevent,thereis a peakof

yawningintheaggressorandthe

victim,whichmayreflectanxiety

ofthesubjects,ormayfunctionas

a stress-releaser mechanism,” says

ClaraLlamazares-Martín

ofSpain’sCEUCardenal

HerreraUniversity.

Thefindingschimewith

workonapesandmonkeys,

showingthatyawningis

morefrequentinsocially

stressfulsituations.

It mightturnoutthat,in

sealions,it servestodefuse

socialtensionbetween

adversaries.Theteamis now

workingonwhethertheir

yawnsarecontagious,likethey

areinhumansandotherapes.

If thatwerethecase,it would

beevidencethatsealionshave

a capacityforempathy.SB

FINDOUTMORE

ScientificReports:

go.nature.com/39H6Jal

Thereasonsforyawning

indierentspeciesare

becoming clearer.