Wild Things: Spider Monkeys, Fire Ants, Hagfish and More...
Dinosaur "thunder thighs" and fast-flying moths
- By Arcynta Ali Childs, T.A. Frail, Megan Gambino, Brian Switek and Sarah Zielinski
- Smithsonian magazine, May 2011
Imported red fire ants (solenopsis invicta), Texas. (Michael Durham)
Fire ants traveled on ships from their native South America to Mobile, Alabama, in the 1930s and spread through the Southeast. Solenopsis invicta has since sprung up in California, the Caribbean, Australia, New Zealand and Asia. Genetic tests directed by USDA researchers traced the origins of nine invasions. In all but one, the stowaways came from the southern United States.
Learn more about fire ants at the Encyclopedia of Life.
Additional Sources
"Traditions in Spider Monkeys Are Biased towards the Social Domain," Claire J. Santorelli et al., PLoS ONE, February 23, 2011
"Convergent patterns of long-distance nocturnal migration in noctuid moths and passerine birds," Thomas Alerstam et al., Proceedings of the Royal Society B, March 9, 2011
"Adaptations to in situ feeding: novel nutrient acquisition pathways in an ancient vertebrate," Chris N. Glover et al., Proceedings of the Royal Society B, March 2, 2011
"Global Invasion History of the Fire Ant Solenopsis invicta," Marina S. Ascunce et al., Science, February 25, 2011
"A new sauropod dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous Cedar Mountain Formation, Utah, USA," Michael P. Taylor et al., Acta Paleontologica Polonica, March 2011
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