'Death Stench' - A 400 Million Year Old Warning Signal
Friday, September 11, 2009 - 12:35
in Biology & Nature
The smell of 'death' that repels insects turns out to be a truly ancient signal for avoiding disease or predators, says David Rollo, professor of biology at McMaster University in the journal Evolutionary Biology. What do the death stench of corpses of from insects to crustaceans all have in common? A blend of specific fatty acids. Because insects and crustaceans diverged more than 400-million years ago it is likely that most subsequent species recognize their dead in a similar way, that the origin of such signals was likely even older, and that such behavior initially occurred in aquatic environments (few crustaceans are terrestrial). read more