zoology

In the last years of his life, it was a great concern of Mathias Küster (1950–2022) to write down his ideas on the gestalt biology of snakes, even though he no longer saw himself in a position to do so alone. However, the project, which was started together in 2021, could only be completed after his death. With regards to content, the… read more

The approximately 398 species of living parrots (macaws, parakeets, cockatoos, etc.) comprise a more or less homogeneous group of birds found mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. No other group of wild birds has attracted such strong human interest, and conse- quently parrots are the most popular avian pets around the world, from the… read more

One classic example of Goethe's principle of compensation are the galliformes. The luxurious splendour of the males’ plumage, for example the capercaillie, golden pheasant and peacock, has to be seen in close relation to the increasingly elaborate courtship behaviour and the decreasing participation in caring for the offspring. However, it is… read more

Each year, some 50 billion migratory birds fly from their breeding grounds to their winter quarters, some of these being far away. Today, we know both the flyways taken by many types of bird and that migratory birds possess a celestial and a magnet compass. Furthermore, evidence is available to prove that any migratory bird, provided it has… read more

The constructions of bower birds — remarks on the principle of compensation

The bowerbirds of New Guinea and Australia build laborious bowers and decorate the courtship sites around them. The artistic arrangement is unique in the bird world. Just as the males of the closer related birds of paradise display their splendid plumage, the… read more

After a general overview of the phylum Cnidaria with their bilayered structure and two Characteristic life forms, polyp (sessile) and medusa (mobile), the Anthozoa, which comprise their own class, are examined in detail by focusing on the colony- forming Anthozoa, which are also referred to as corals. We can distinguish two fundamentally… read more

Reflections on the formative biology of bee swarms

Throughout their entire life cycle, honey bees are closely connected to their environment and receive important shaping stimuli from their surroundings. Thus it is not a gene that determines whether an egg will turn into a worker or a queen, but rather the shaping stimulus arising from… read more

The metamorphosis of antler forms

Among the many forms of antlers there is a formative law that is common to them all, an 'archetype' in the Goethean sense. Firstly, this 'archetypal antler' is grasped as a common Bauplan, as a scheme of different parts and their spatial relations to one and other. Elements of this Bauplan, which by… read more

From symbiosis to brood parasitism Part I: From the life of the cuckoo

Using the cuckoo family as an example, this article shows that likening the cuckoo to a brood parasite is not generally justified, as there are many cuckoo species that care for brood. Some of them - possibly the oldest - form social groups and brood communities… read more

Among vertebrates including humans. the skeleton of marine true bony fish (teleosts), with its 2-4%. carbonate content by weight, contains the least amount of carbonate and no ‘labile carbonate' (bicarbonate HCO3-), the most actively living mineral phase of bone. Because of this deficiency the teleost skeleton is unable to buffer acid-base… read more