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A burrow is a hole or tunnel excavated into the ground by an animal to construct a space suitable for habitation or temporary refuge, or as a byproduct of locomotion. Burrows provide a form of shelter against predation and exposure to the elements, and can be found in nearly every biome and among various biological interactions. Many animal ...
Small or missing external ears, to reduce naturally occurring friction during burrowing. Short and stout limbs, since swiftness or speed of movement is less important than the strength to dig. Broad and stout forelimbs ( manus ), including long claws, designed to loosen the burrowing material for the hind feet to disperse in the back.
All insects have antennae, however they may be greatly reduced in the larval forms. Amongst the non-insect classes of the Hexapoda, both Collembola and Diplura have antenna, but Protura do not. [9] Antennal fibrillae play an important role in Culex pipiens mating practices. The erection of these fibrillae is considered to be the first stage in ...
A so-called "cathedral" mound produced by a termite colony. Structures built by non-human animals, often called animal architecture, [1] are common in many species. Examples of animal structures include termite mounds, ant hills, wasp and beehives, burrow complexes, beaver dams, elaborate nests of birds, and webs of spiders.
Levees, embankments and dams are types of earthwork. A levee, floodbank or stopbank is an elongated natural ridge or artificially constructed dirt fill wall that regulates water levels. It is usually earthen and often runs parallel to the course of a river in its floodplain or along low-lying coastlines.
Cattle grazing below high water, Isle of Dogs, 1792 (Robert Dodd, detail: National Maritime Museum) The Embanking of the tidal Thames is the historical process by which the lower River Thames, at one time a shallow waterway, perhaps five times broader than today, winding through malarious marshlands, has been transformed by human intervention into a deep, narrow tidal canal flowing between ...
The ventral scales of sidewinding snakes are short and have small, microscopic holes in them to reduce friction, as opposed to the more spike-shaped ones of other snakes. These are more prominent in the African horned viper and sand vipers than the American sidewinder, theorised to do with the formers' environments being older by millions of years.
The side of a levee in Sacramento, California. A levee (/ ˈ l ɛ v i / or / ˈ l ɛ v eɪ /), [a] [1] dike (American English), dyke (British English; see spelling differences), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is an elevated ridge, natural or artificial, alongside the banks of a river, often intended to protect against flooding of the area adjoining the river.