Yes, even in the animal kingdom there are “self -supporters”. It is a behavior known as forestrya term that describes a particular form of passive transport in which one body is carried away by another. The term was coined in 1896 by the scholar Lesne, who observed the behavior of the scarabeo Ceroptera Rufitarsisoften transported by coprophagan beetles.
Generally animals who practice foresia avoid predators (understandably!), But there is no shortage of curious exceptions. The main advantage? A faster and larger diffusion in new environmentsuseful for the survival and colonization of new habitats.
In 2020 a study published in the magazine Biological Reviews From Andrew Bartlow and Salvatore Agosta he reviewed the scientific literature on the theme, revealing that foresia is much more widespread than he thought, and involves very different animal species.
Some examples? The cockroaches are transported by the ants, the hesitations hook to larger fish thanks to a modified hundreds of the suction cup, the sea anemones can be transported by the crabs and the turtles by the alligators. A real animal caravan!
However, this form of transport is not without risk: In some cases, transported animals can end up in hostile environmentsfrom which they can no longer return, putting their survival at risk.
Bartlow underlines that Foresia is probably much more frequent than you think even in marine ecosystems, but it still remains little documented due to the difficulties of observation in these environments. The fact is that the curious phenomenon is a surprisingly ingenious survival strategy!
Sources: Biological Reviews
