BBC Wildlife - UK (2020-08)

IN NUMBERS

NEW SPECIESDISCOVERY

30%

is theamountNewZealand’s

CriticallyEndangeredkak

(orblackstilt)populationhas

increasedby,thankstoalmost

40 yearsofconservation.

1

teaspoonofsoilfromthe

Amazoncontainsasmanyas

1,800microscopiclifeforms,of

which 400 arefungi.

72%

ofglobalfoodcropsare

pollinatedbyhoverflieswhodo

notyetappeartohavefacedthe

declinesexperiencedbybees

and other insect pollinators.

FINDOUTMORE

Phytotaxa

bit.ly/2BUJIVW

WHATISIT?If anyplantcould

bedescribedasmorethanthe

sumofitsparts,thisnewspecies

ofhelmetorchidissurelyit.The

partsinquestioncompriseone

fingernail-sizedleafanda single

bloom.Butwhatexquisiteparts

theyare,andhowwelltheysuit

eachother– thisisbeautypared

down to its bare essentials.

WHEREISIT?Helmetorchidsare

pollinatedbyfungusgnats,which

mistaketheflowerfora mushroom

andtransferpollenastheyrummage

aroundfora suitableegg-layingsite.

Thislatestadditiontothegroupgrows

on forest floors in the Philippines. SB

Corybas

circinatus

Mouse: Erica Olsen/FLPA (captive); orchid: Danilo Tandang

D

omesticcatsandhousemice

gotogetherlike,well...Tom

andJerry.Andnow,biologists

havefoundthatthesearchetypal

archenemieshaveanintimate

evolutionaryhistorygoingback

manythousandsofyears.

It is prettywellestablishedthat

thehousemouse– oneofthemost

successfulinvasivespeciesonthe

planet– originatedinsouthernAsia

whenhumansstartedadopting

sedentaryagriculturalcultures

reliantonthestorageofgrains.The

suspicionhaslongbeenthatthe

domesticationoftheAfricanwild

catwasdrivenbyhumans’needto

protecttheirpreciouslardersfrom

therapaciousrodents.

Aninternationalteamof

scientistshasnowusedgeneticand

archaeological evidence to provide

somefirmevidenceforthattheory.

They’veshownthat,asthemice

havespreadtohumansettlements

aroundtheworld,thecatshave

soonfollowed.

Theresearchsuggeststhat

peopleprobablyfirststarted

usingcatstocontroltherodents

somewhereintheNearEastabout

15,000yearsago.Fivethousand

yearslater,bothspeciesappearedin

Cyprusandthenstartedcolonising

continentalEuropesimultaneously

about4,000yearsago.

Meanwhile,it’sprobablyfair

toassumethattheseancestral

moggieshada bettersuccess rate

thanpooroldTom.SB

FINDOUTMORE

ScientificReports:

go.nature.com/2YMLNw3

Themouse and the pussycat

EVOLUTION

Keepingit simple:

theunostentatious

Corybas circinatus.

Thegameofcat

andmousehas

beenplayingoutfor

thousands of years.

August 2020 BBC Wildlife 25