Wild Things: Spider Monkeys, Fire Ants, Hagfish and More…
Dinosaur “thunder thighs” and fast-flying moths
![Spider monkey](https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/tBaCZn6AJlam3HtIO_gccsFN_ps=/1000x750/filters:no_upscale()/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/Wild-Things-spider-monkey-631.jpg)
Monkey See, Do
![Spider monkeys](https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/sN49VySzpTX-Y39FDDrjM3C-2sk=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/Wild-Things-spider-monkey-1.jpg)
Learn more about spider monkeys at the Encyclopedia of Life.
Beyond The Tortoise and The Hare
![Silver Y Moth](https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/zDxyxhIGS2rXG8gKqG0hD3PmZIg=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/Wild-Things-silver-Y-moth-2.jpg)
Learn more about the silver Y moth at the Encyclopedia of Life.
Yes, They Call It "Thunder Thighs"
![Brontomerus](https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/LXrqBT1BDxdS8nC4zGrsA9CdUtk=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/Wild-Things-Brontomerus-3.jpg)
A U.S. Export That Stings
![Fire ants](https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/Mu5es7Z1CZjR7U-ZRLM21QC3RvI=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/Wild-Things-fire-ants-5.jpg)
Learn more about fire ants at the Encyclopedia of Life.
Observed
![Pacific hagfish](https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/ilfSj82L3GR-tUamo9JcUWMAGBM=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/Wild-Things-Pacific-hagfish-4.jpg)
Inside Out: Hagfish, which evolved hundreds of millions of years ago, are known for burrowing into the bodies of dead or dying fish and eating their way out.
Outside In: Hagfish also absorb nutrients through their skin and gills as they wallow. These "novel nutrient acquisition pathways," report Chris Glover of New Zealand's University of Canterbury and co- authors, hadn't been seen in a vertebrate.
Midstream: The authors call the dual-ingestion method a "transitory state" between aquatic invertebrates (many of which absorb food) and vertebrates (which eat it).
Learn more about the Pacific hagfish at the Encyclopedia of Life.