I found a novel adaptation of Hamlet. It reads like fanfiction
Why Most Snails Do Coil to the Right?
by Jennifer Carpenter
When plucking a snail from the beach you’d be lucky to snag a left-coiling shell.That’s because only 5% of all snails are “lefties,” new research shows. Shell enthusiasts have long marveled at the lack of sinistral (left-coiling) snails among their collections, especially when other shelled mollusks, such as clams and the now-extinct ammonites—nautiluslike creatures that sported dozens of tentacles inside spiraled shells—are just as likely to be left- as right-coiling.
Now, in the largest survey of its kind, researchers inspected more than 55,000 snail species—representing two-thirds of all gastropods—to reveal that left-coiling has arisen more than 100 times, and yet few of the species that have made the switch have been particularly successful. In the rare cases where left-coiling took off, it was almost always on land, the team reported here in a presentation last week at the annual meeting of the Canadian Society of Zoologists.
The researchers don’t know why sinistrality is so rare underwater, but the most likely explanation, they say, is that unlike land snails that tend to hang around where they hatch out, the microscopic young of sea snails are carried on ocean currents that make the chance of meeting and reproducing with another left-coiling nest-mate slim. Without such a meeting, the left-coiling lineage goes extinct.
(via: Science NEWS/AAAS) (photo: Yang Hao)
Goliath grouper (Epinephelus itajara)
… can grow as big as a Volkswagen and live more than 35 years! But as slow and curious swimmers in shallow water, they are easy prey for fishermen.
After nearing extinction, a catch ban helped them recover. Now, Florida is considering reopening the fishery and we believe it’s too soon. Take a moment to help this iconic Florida fish return to full abundance by taking this public opinion survey. Your voice can help make the difference… http://ocean.ly/13tLwaj
(via: Ocean Conservancy)
Reedfish (Erpetoichthys calabaricus)
Also known as the ropefish or snake fish, the reedfish is an ancient species of fish related to bichir native to western Africa. Reefish usually inhabit slow-moving brackish/fresh water but can also survive in water with low dissolved oxygen content, due to a pair of lungs. These lungs allow them to survive for a small amount of time outside of the water. When they are in the water they feed nocturnally on worms, crustaceans and insects. Their peaceful and inquisitive nature and unique appearance have made the ropefish a popular fish in the aquarium trade.
Phylogeny
Animalia-Chordata-Actinopterygii-Chondrostei-Polypteriformes-Polypteridae-Erpetoichthys-calabaricus
