Countershading

Many animals are countershaded, meaning that their dorsal sides are darker than their ventral sides. The color pattern occurs in animals terrestrial and aquatic alike and is one of the most common camouflage patterns in the animal kingdom (it was even present in dinosaurs). In the case of rock-hopping ibexes, countershading allows the tawny creatures to blend in with the rusty mountain slopes they inhabit. Great white sharks evolved the same strategy. Viewed from above, they blend in with the dark depths of the ocean;…

Rendering of a reclining Psittacosaurus, with insert showing the umbilical scar.Illustration: Jagged Fang DesignsForget dinosaurs engaged in vicious combat. Put aside terrifying fangs and claws. Scientists have discovered a softer side to dinosaurs: the reptilian equivalent of a belly button.For the first time ever, scientists have identified an umbilical scar on a non-avian dinosaur. The paper announcing this find is published in BMC Biology, and it’s yet another exciting discovery from a particularly rare and…