The pale-throated sloth, from the northern Amazon forests, has evolved in an unusual way to survive the dangers of swinging through trees in total darkness. The nocturnal bear-like creature has developed a sense of smell so sensitive it can tell whether branches nearby are emitting whiffs of sap or not.
“That allows them to swing only on to branches that are healthy, ” said Professor Geoff Boxshall of the Natural History Museum in London. “They can avoid grabbing one that is sapless and dead, which might break, causing them to fall out of a tree and injure themselves.”
Another remarkable creature of the night is the blind aquatic salamander Proteus anguinus – or olm. These animals spend their lives in total darkness in caves in central and south-eastern Europe. They grow up to 30cm long, can live for up to a century and have no vision – instead they have evolved a technique for detecting the bioelectric fields of their main prey, cave shrimps, so they can hunt in total darkness.
“Our own senses are utterly dominated by information from our eyes, but countless other creatures can happily survive without this input. Their approach to lack of light gives us a new way to explore nature.”
However, the Stygian world that shelters these creatures is under threat. As humanity spreads, we carry light pollution with us. For example, the nocturnal boat-billed heron of Peru and Brazil will not eat in the presence of any light source, and this is a growing problem as urbanisation spreads. “Life in the dark is a delicate business, ” Boxshall concludes. “We should not take it for granted.”
————— 文章来源 / 卫报
thrive/θraɪv/
v. 欣欣向荣；茁壮成长
e.g.
New businesses thrive in this area.
sloth/sloʊθ/
n. 树懒（南美洲热带动物，行动缓慢）
nocturnal/nɑːkˈtɜːrnl/
adj. 夜间活动的
whiff/wɪf/
n. 一阵；一股（气味）
e.g.
catch a whiff of perfume
sap/sæp/
n. （植物体内运送养分的）汁液
salamander/ˈsæləmændər/
n. 蝾螈（两栖动物，形似蜥蜴）
olm
n. 洞螈
bioelectric/ˌbaɪoʊ-ɪˈlektrɪk/
adj. 生物电的
prey/preɪ/
n. 猎物
e.g.
The lion often stalks its prey for hours.
utterly/ˈʌtərli/
adv. 全然；完全地；彻底地
Stygian/ˈstɪdʒiən/
adj. 黑黢黢的；阴森的
urbanisation/ˌɜːrbənəˈzeɪʃn/
n. 城市化
Proteus anguinus
洞螈（亦称盲螈）
boat-billed heron
船嘴鹭（热带美洲地区的一种涉水禽鸟）
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