Folklore often claims animals can sense things humans cannot - but is there a grain of reality behind that idea? It turns out some animals really do have a "sixth sense" - for example...
1. Electricity-Sensing SpidersSpiders are already strange creatures, but amongst the silk-spinning, venom, many eyes, and multiple legs hide another talent. Arachnids possess an incredible sense of touch, with hair-like sensors (known as trichobothria) capable of detecting tiny changes in air currents. Even weirder, the trichobothria can also sense electrical fields.
This isn't just some incidental talent - researchers have found that some spiders "balloon" by producing silk, climbing high and drifting into the sky. Though the spiders were thought to be exploiting air currents, it didn't quite fit aerodynamic models - something else had to be going on.
By keeping arachnids in boring (but electrically charged) enclosures, scientists found that spiders in a vertical electric field would prepare to balloon - using the electric field as an additional bit of lift. Spiders have been found four kilometers in the sky, so it seems to work for them!
Another feature found on spiders is slit sensillums. These specialized organs are clustered near the joints of the legs, where they can detect tiny amounts of exoskeletal strain and vibration. If you've ever wondered how a spider senses the struggles of a tiny insect so easily, here's your answer.
The strangest thing about this fish is its status as a living barometer. Fish keepers say that they become more active as a storm approaches, jumping and splashing or even standing on end as the pressure changes.
Loaches and other related fish possess a Weberian apparatus, or four small bones protruding from the vertebrae just after the skull. These link the inner ear and the swim bladder, granting the fish enhanced hearing and pressure sensitivity.
Pits between the eye and nostril of this snake serve as heat-detecting organs linked to the brain at the optic nerve. This gives the viper a kind of thermal vision, meaning that it can hunt warm-blooded prey no matter how dark it is.
The protein responsible for the thermal vision is "warmed" by radiant heat coming from the prey, and having two pits allows the viper to triangulate the target. Humans actually have an equivalent protein, but it detects spicy flavors like wasabi instead!
4. Magnetic BatsBats are famed for their echolocation, bursts of ultrasound that build up a map of obstacles in the environment or locate insect prey. But did you know that some bats can sense weak magnetic fields - or even navigate by the polarization of light in the sky?
Researchers found that Nyctalus plancyi bats were able to detect a very weak magnetic field, with the creatures positioning themselves at what they perceived as magnetic north. Further testing revealed that the small mammals could still detect the field at around 20% of the current natural magnetic field of Earth, possibly indicating that the talent had persisted through past fluctuations in field strength.
Other research revealed that Myotis myotis uses polarized light to "calibrate" their magnetic compass. The creatures seemingly use the polarized light of sunsets to set their compass, keeping it accurate despite any fluctuations in magnetic fields. By manipulating the polarization of light the bats were exposed to, the scientists were able to sabotage their ability to home!
By producing low frequency vocalizations (or even by the act of walking or running) elephants create a seismic signal that travels much further through the ground than in the air. Researchers have determined that elephants can pick up and interpret these vibrations - it's a bit like a string-telephone that uses the ground as the string.
Researchers found that the beasts were able to discriminate noise made by human activity from that of other elephants...and tended to retreat from it.
After a while, the rats got familiar with this extra sense and were able to track infrared light in their cages for a reward. Critically, the animal's normal sense of touch was not impaired by the implant—meaning that a similar device might be suitable to augment or replace lost senses in a human!
- Electricity-sensing spiders
- Pressure-sensing weather loaches
- Thermal vision vipers
- Magnetic bats
- Seismic-signaling elephants
- Cybernetic lab rats
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| Elephants seem sensitive to ground vibrations... (Waldemar Brandt) |
1. Electricity-Sensing SpidersSpiders are already strange creatures, but amongst the silk-spinning, venom, many eyes, and multiple legs hide another talent. Arachnids possess an incredible sense of touch, with hair-like sensors (known as trichobothria) capable of detecting tiny changes in air currents. Even weirder, the trichobothria can also sense electrical fields.
This isn't just some incidental talent - researchers have found that some spiders "balloon" by producing silk, climbing high and drifting into the sky. Though the spiders were thought to be exploiting air currents, it didn't quite fit aerodynamic models - something else had to be going on.
By keeping arachnids in boring (but electrically charged) enclosures, scientists found that spiders in a vertical electric field would prepare to balloon - using the electric field as an additional bit of lift. Spiders have been found four kilometers in the sky, so it seems to work for them!
Another feature found on spiders is slit sensillums. These specialized organs are clustered near the joints of the legs, where they can detect tiny amounts of exoskeletal strain and vibration. If you've ever wondered how a spider senses the struggles of a tiny insect so easily, here's your answer.
2. Pressure-Sensing Weather Loaches
The weather loach (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus) is an odd fish that seems to have spread across the globe. Native to Asia, this fish has turned up in Australia, Greece and America. They can handle poor quality water, and can even take oxygen from the air thanks to a modified intestine.The strangest thing about this fish is its status as a living barometer. Fish keepers say that they become more active as a storm approaches, jumping and splashing or even standing on end as the pressure changes.
Loaches and other related fish possess a Weberian apparatus, or four small bones protruding from the vertebrae just after the skull. These link the inner ear and the swim bladder, granting the fish enhanced hearing and pressure sensitivity.
3. Thermal Vision Vipers
Even the best visual camouflage can be foiled by heat emissions. The pit viper exploits this by "seeing" heat as well as having normal vision.Pits between the eye and nostril of this snake serve as heat-detecting organs linked to the brain at the optic nerve. This gives the viper a kind of thermal vision, meaning that it can hunt warm-blooded prey no matter how dark it is.
The protein responsible for the thermal vision is "warmed" by radiant heat coming from the prey, and having two pits allows the viper to triangulate the target. Humans actually have an equivalent protein, but it detects spicy flavors like wasabi instead!
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| They don't just rely on echolocation... (Clément Falize) |
4. Magnetic BatsBats are famed for their echolocation, bursts of ultrasound that build up a map of obstacles in the environment or locate insect prey. But did you know that some bats can sense weak magnetic fields - or even navigate by the polarization of light in the sky?
Researchers found that Nyctalus plancyi bats were able to detect a very weak magnetic field, with the creatures positioning themselves at what they perceived as magnetic north. Further testing revealed that the small mammals could still detect the field at around 20% of the current natural magnetic field of Earth, possibly indicating that the talent had persisted through past fluctuations in field strength.
Other research revealed that Myotis myotis uses polarized light to "calibrate" their magnetic compass. The creatures seemingly use the polarized light of sunsets to set their compass, keeping it accurate despite any fluctuations in magnetic fields. By manipulating the polarization of light the bats were exposed to, the scientists were able to sabotage their ability to home!
5. Seismic-Signaling Elephants
The trumpeting blast of an elephant is a dramatic sound, but they are also masters of a subtler form of communication. Researchers have found that these mighty creatures can communicate through the ground.By producing low frequency vocalizations (or even by the act of walking or running) elephants create a seismic signal that travels much further through the ground than in the air. Researchers have determined that elephants can pick up and interpret these vibrations - it's a bit like a string-telephone that uses the ground as the string.
Researchers found that the beasts were able to discriminate noise made by human activity from that of other elephants...and tended to retreat from it.
6. Cybernetic Lab Rats
While not in a natural sense, scientists have managed to grant lab rats the ability to detect infrared. By connecting a sensor to the area of the brain that interprets touch, the researchers made the rats able to "feel" infrared light.After a while, the rats got familiar with this extra sense and were able to track infrared light in their cages for a reward. Critically, the animal's normal sense of touch was not impaired by the implant—meaning that a similar device might be suitable to augment or replace lost senses in a human!
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