David Brian Butvill
Recent articles by David Brian Butvill
"They have normal-sized bird lungs, yet can remain submerged for 20 minutes or more and dive hundreds of metres deep, all on a single breath of air"
Penguins can dive hundreds of metres deep, all on a single breath of air. just how do they do it?
"The uninvited guest sinks its syringe-like mouthparts into the meaty organ and begins draining it of blood." Discover the gruesome tongue-eating parasite
What’s grosser than gross? A parasite that eats your tongue – and then lives in your mouth, as your tongue. Meet the nightmarish Cymothoa exigua.
"When threatened it slips into a crevice and inflates its body like a rubber raft. Within seconds, it's twice its original size and wedged in place."
How and why the swell shark can inflate itself to twice its size
At 12cm it's the world's largest, most gruesome bug – and can suck the life out of prey many times its size, like drinking one giant protein smoothie
All you need to know about the deadly giant water bug that attacks anything that moves - even humans, hence its nickname 'toe-biter'.
“It uses jet propulsion, sucking in water and forcing it out through a siphon – this packs real power and enables them to launch into the air at more than 40kph.“
Can squid really fly? Yes, says David Brian Butvill, there are a few squid species that can get airborne... Here's how and why
