WILDLIFE UPDATES

BIG BAT DOWN UNDER

A giant fossilised relative of New Zealand’s strange burrowing bats has been unearthed on South Island. According to Scientific Reports, Vulcanops jennyworthyae foraged on foot as well as on the wing, and was about three times the size of the modern bat.

SUCKER PUNCH

The discovery of fossil butterflies 70 million years older than the first flowering plants, reported in Science Advances, challenges the idea that the insects’ characteristic coiled proboscis evolved to tap nectar. Indeed, flowers may even have evolved in response to the insects.

LOT OF ROTTERS

Dead trees harbour 12 times as many species of fungi than was thought. Modern genetic techniques allow fungi to be identified even without the visible fruiting bodies, and The ISME Journal reports that 300 trunks in German forests contained 1254 species.

FRILL SEEKING

A new species of giant octopus has been discovered in Prince William Sound, Alaska. The American Malacological Bulletin reports that it is a frillier version of the Pacific giant octopus, which can weigh up to 75kg. Only immature specimens have been found so far.