The world of wildlife is a constant struggle between predators and their victims, so the latter have developed a lot of interesting adaptations to save their own lives. Someone got long legs that allow them to run fast, others chose the tactics of herd defense, and still others preferred to improve the physiological regulation of the body and acting skills. The ability to not move for some time, take unnatural poses and pretend to be dead is called thanatosis in biology, or imaginary death. We will talk about some of the most successful ways to instantly turn from a living being into a dead one in our selection.
opossums
Don't worry, this opossum is alive, just skillfully pretending
In case of danger, these cute animals that live in the New World can very skillfully pretend to be dead. The unnatural position of the body (lying on God), the open mouth and complete immobility leave no doubt - the opossum is dead. Meanwhile, scientists have found that this state is not fainting or immobilization as a result of panic fear, but it is skillful acting, since the animal's brain functions perfectly in this state. In the US, there is even a joke that sounds like "stop playing possum", which means "stop pretending."
beetles
The cunning bug looks like a dried specimen of an entomological collection and does not look like a delicious lunch at all Some representatives of the order Coleoptera, when touched or other signs of danger, fall to the ground, stretch their paws in an unnatural position and, showing miracles of self-control, remain motionless for several minutes. In many cases, this saves their lives.
white tailed deer
A white-tailed deer cub is completely defenseless against predators, so imaginary death is the best way out in case of danger.
Baby white-tailed or virgin deer, common in North America, also have the art of turning into "dead". In a critical situation, a cub of this species of deer has a sharp decrease in heart rate (from 150-160 beats per minute to 35-40 beats), while the cub falls and freezes, and its breathing is barely perceptible. Seeing such an unfortunate, predators prefer to bypass carrion.
snakes
This is what a “dead snake” looks like, which also smells bad Another talented actors from the animal world are snakes of the genus snakes. These are non-venomous snakes, so if they cannot escape, they pretend to be dead. Their muscles relax, the body assumes an unnatural position, and the head with an open mouth completes the image of the deceased animal. For greater reliability, snakes secrete a special liquid that has a disgusting smell, which leaves no doubt - the snake is dead, and not for the first day. Few people dare to eat such carrion with a disgusting smell, and in this way snakes save their lives.
It remains only to say that the self-control of these animals is admirable. After all, it is very difficult to cope with stress and force yourself to play the role of a dead being.
dead nature (nature morte, Stilleben) - this is the name of a kind of painting depicting beaten game and other animals, flowers, fruits, shells, vases and many other inanimate objects belonging to the works of nature and human hands. In this kind of painting, the first merit is the exact imitation of the objects depicted, and the artist is left only with their elegant grouping and colorful, pleasant chiaroscuro. Some artists perform such paintings in a decorative taste and paint their compositions widely and freely, others love fine and extremely finished painting. The immobility of the model, the possibility of continuous unchanging illumination of it, make it possible to bring the technical performance to the utmost degree of perfection, so that perhaps in no other kind of painting itself, in the sense of execution, reaches such a height as in this one. The origin of this kind of painting must be sought in Holland, and initially M.'s images of nature were probably made simply for signboards; David de Ghem (1570-1632) is considered the first artist of the M. nature, followed by many other de Gem, including the famous Jan David de Gem; the most important artists, who followed one after another until the beginning of the 18th century, are named in Art. Dutch painting (see). Huge paintings by Snyders, a contemporary of Rubens, depicting meat and fish shops, although animated by human figures, in essence, should also be attributed to M. nature. These works were in great demand among the Dutch, who loved everything that depicted and reminded them of their ordinary life to the smallest detail. The Hermitage Gallery is rich in fine works of this kind. Among other peoples, this genus did not have such a meaning; among the French, for example, it had a rather decorative meaning, although it often served as an area in which technical skill with the taste inherent in the French found its highest expression. Such, for example, are the works of the contemporary French artist Wallon. In Russia, this kind of painting has almost no significance, except for decorative, and then accidental.
Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron. - St. Petersburg: Brockhaus-Efron. 1890-1907 .
See what "Dead Nature" is in other dictionaries:
- (French nature morte lit. dead nature) in the visual arts, the image of inanimate objects, in contrast to portrait, genre, historical and landscape subjects. New dictionary of foreign words. by EdwART, 2009. still life… … Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language
DEAD, dead, dead; dead, dead, dead and dead. 1. Dead, one in which life has ceased; devoid of life. Dead body. Dead bird. "Dead men and horses lay on the battlefield." Prishvin. || in meaning noun dead, dead, ... ... Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov
Aya, oh; dead, dead, dead and dead, dead and dead. 1. One who died, lost his life; opposite alive. [Circassian] pierced in the chest with lead, Was carried off in the field by a horse, And, dead, still fought on the saddle! Lermontov, Izmail Bey. In a moment we... Small Academic Dictionary
Schelling Friedrich- Schelling and the romantic suffering of idealism Schelling's life, evolution and writings Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling was born in Leonberg (near Stuttgart), in 1775, in the family of a pastor. After graduating from the classical gymnasium, at the age of fifteen he ... ... Western philosophy from its origins to the present day
Y, well. 1. The material world around us, everything that exists, not created by human activity. Nature laws. □ In the course of preparing for space travel, humanity rises to a new level in science and technology, penetrates even deeper into the most… Small Academic Dictionary
A; m. [French. nature morte dead nature]. Genre of fine art depiction of inanimate objects (things, flowers, fruits, food, etc.); work of this genre. Write n. N. with fruits and flowers. N. Kuznetsova. / Razg. ABOUT… … encyclopedic Dictionary
A psychophysiological phenomenon that underlies comedy and the literary effects it defines, from simply funny, funny, to satire and comedy. The nature of laughter and related literary phenomena is still not enough ... ... Literary Encyclopedia
Laughter- LAUGHTER is a psychophysiological phenomenon that underlies comedy and the literary effects it defines, from simply funny, funny, to satire and comedy. The nature of laughter and related literary phenomena is still presented ... ... Dictionary of literary terms
still life- the French language likes to soften the sound of consonants, so the Latin natura nature received the pronunciation of natures in France. Morte is French for dead. And dead nature, a still life image on paper or canvas of inanimate objects, one ... Entertaining etymological dictionary
Technology and natural science in Europe in the second half of the 17th and 18th centuries.- In the science of the second half of the XVII century. the heliocentric system, the dynamics of Galileo and Cartesian physics (that is, the physics of Descartes and his followers) finally won. Compared with the first half of the XVII century. scientific understanding of the world in many ways ... ... The World History. Encyclopedia
Books
- Where are the continents going? Earth living and dead, Balandin Rudolf Konstantinovich. People aspire to other planets, not really knowing their native Earth, to which they owe their lives, every breath and sip of water. Why do mountains grow, wander across the continents of the sea, crystals arise ...
Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron
dead nature
(nature morte, Stilleben) - this is the name of a kind of painting depicting beaten game and other animals, flowers, fruits, shells, vases and many other inanimate objects belonging to the works of nature and human hands. In this kind of painting, the first merit is the exact imitation of the objects depicted, and the artist is left only with their elegant grouping and colorful, pleasant chiaroscuro. Some artists perform such paintings in a decorative taste and paint their compositions widely and freely, others love fine and extremely finished painting. The immobility of the model, the possibility of continuous unchanging illumination of it, make it possible to bring the technical performance to the utmost degree of perfection, so that perhaps in no other kind of painting itself, in the sense of execution, reaches such a height as in this one. The origin of this kind of painting must be sought in Holland, and initially M.'s images of nature were probably made simply for signboards; David de Ghem (1570-1632) is considered the first artist of the M. nature, followed by many other de Gem, including the famous Jan David de Gem; the most important artists, who followed one after another until the beginning of the 18th century, are named in Art. Dutch painting (see). Huge paintings by Snyders, a contemporary of Rubens, depicting meat and fish shops, although animated by human figures, in essence, should also be attributed to M. nature. These works were in great demand among the Dutch, who loved everything that depicted and reminded them of their ordinary life to the smallest detail. The Hermitage Gallery is rich in fine works of this kind. Among other peoples, this genus did not have such a meaning; among the French, for example, it had a rather decorative meaning, although it often served as an area in which technical skill with the taste inherent in the French found its highest expression. Such, for example, are the works of the contemporary French artist Wallon. In Russia, this kind of painting has almost no significance, except for decorative, and then accidental.
