How do wombats make cube-shaped poop? Unveiled the mechanism that allows them to be unique in nature
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves himA unique feat in nature. THE vombati, soft and furry little animals, they have a really strange way of freeing their intestines. Their poop is cube-shaped. A mystery that scientists have been wondering for some time. If the why seems clear by now, one of the doubts concerned the way in which theirs disastrous they took on the characteristic shape.
An international study conducted by scientists fromUniversity of Tasmania shed new light on the physics behind this biological puzzle. The research, published by Soft Matter magazine, confirms that wombat poop takes its geometric shape within the animal's intestine, not at the exit point as previously thought.
In collaboration with a team of US scientists, the research had already received the Ig Nobel Prize in 2019.
But now the studies have moved on and under the guidance of Dr. Scott Carver, a wildlife ecologist at the University of Tasmania, another novelty has emerged, an accidental discovery. The cubed poop study focused on common or naked-nosed wombats, which live throughout Southeast Australia.
“Wombats are renowned for producing cube-shaped poop. This ability to form relatively uniform and clean feces is unique in the animal kingdom, ”said Dr. Carver. “They put this feces in prominent places in their range, such as around a rock or log, to communicate with each other. Our research found that these cubes form in the bottom 17% of the colon ”.
Through a combination of laboratory tests and mathematical models, the researchers found that there are two rigid and two more flexible regions around the circumference of the wombat's gut. The combination of stool drying in the distal colon and muscle contractions forms the regular size and angles of the stool. The intestines of such animals are about 10 meters long, or 10 times the length of their body.
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Also, to make a comparison with humans, foods travel through the intestines for a day or two. The digestive process of a wombat, on the other hand, requires up to four times more in order to extract all the nutritional content possible. They are also more efficient at extracting water from the intestines, as evidenced by the fact that their feces are a third drier than human ones. And it is no coincidence that they live in arid areas with little water.
According to Carver, the discovery highlights an entirely new way of making cubes - inside a soft tube - and the results could be applied to other fields.
“The formation of cubes can help us understand the hydration status of wombats, as their stools may appear less cubed in wet conditions. It also shows how intestinal stiffening can produce smooth sides as a hallmark of a disease, ”said Dr. Carver. "Now we understand how these cubes are formed, but there is still a lot to learn about the behavior of vombats and how they evolved to make cubes."
Fascinating creatures that will never cease to amaze us.
Sources of reference: Soft Matters, University of Tasmania, ScienceMag
READ also:
- Why does the wombat cube poop? Scientists find out why
- Wombat, 10 things you (maybe) didn't know
