Category
Zoology
Explore the 10 entries currently assigned to this category. These counts describe this curated catalogue, not the size or rate of change of the field itself.
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Not a fact anymore
The king cobra is one widespread species, Ophiophagus hannah, found across South and Southeast Asia.
What we know now
A 2024 taxonomic revision recognizes four king cobra species: Ophiophagus hannah, O. bungarus, O. kaalinga and O. salvatana.
- Status
- Reclassified
- Category
- Zoology
- Accepted for
- ≈188 years
- Changed approximately
- 2024
Not a fact anymore
Woodpecker skulls protect the brain by acting as shock absorbers during pecking.
What we know now
During pecking, the woodpecker head behaves mainly as a stiff hammer rather than a shock absorber. Its small brain and cranial geometry help keep predicted pressures below damaging levels without substantially dissipating the impact.
- Status
- Overturned
- Category
- Zoology
- Accepted for
- Not quantified
- Changed approximately
- 2022
Not a fact anymore
One-way airflow through the gas-exchanging parts of the lungs is unique to birds.
What we know now
Alligators and several other crocodilians, as well as some lizards, also have regions where air flows in the same direction during both inhalation and exhalation. The pattern does not require flight, warm-bloodedness or bird-style air sacs.
- Status
- Overturned
- Category
- Zoology
- Accepted for
- Not quantified
- Changed approximately
- 2010–2014
Not a fact anymore
Giant pandas are closer to raccoons than to bears.
What we know now
Giant pandas belong to the bear family, Ursidae. Red pandas belong to their own family, Ailuridae, and are more closely related to musteloids such as raccoons, weasels, and skunks.
- Status
- Reclassified
- Category
- Zoology
- Accepted for
- ≈100 years
- Changed approximately
- 1980s–2000s
Not a fact anymore
Birds have little or no sense of smell and rely almost entirely on sight and hearing.
What we know now
Birds vary widely in olfactory ability. Many use smell to navigate, find food, recognize individuals and nests, detect predators, and choose mates.
- Status
- Overturned
- Category
- Zoology
- Accepted for
- ≈115 years
- Changed approximately
- 1960s–present
Not a fact anymore
All adult vertebrates need hemoglobin to carry oxygen in their blood.
What we know now
Antarctic icefishes survive without functional hemoglobin or red blood cells. Their oxygen travels dissolved in the blood plasma, aided by cold, oxygen-rich water and circulatory features such as large hearts and high blood flow.
- Status
- Overturned
- Category
- Zoology
- Accepted for
- Not quantified
- Changed approximately
- 1954, with later physiological and genetic confirmation
Not a fact anymore
Live birth was treated as a defining feature of mammals, making reports of egg-laying mammals difficult to reconcile with Mammalia.
What we know now
Platypuses and echidnas are mammals that lay eggs. They have hair, produce milk, and share mammalian ancestry while retaining an ancestral egg-laying reproductive system.
- Status
- Reclassified
- Category
- Zoology
- Accepted for
- Not quantified
- Changed approximately
- Early 19th century–1880s
Not a fact anymore
Barnacles are mollusks related to limpets and other shelled animals.
What we know now
Barnacles are crustaceans related to crabs, lobsters, and shrimp. Their free-swimming larvae and jointed appendages reveal that relationship.
- Status
- Reclassified
- Category
- Zoology
- Accepted for
- ≈72 years
- Changed approximately
- 1830s
Not a fact anymore
Sea sponges were often classified as plants or intermediate plant-like organisms rather than animals.
What we know now
Sponges are animals. They filter water through specialized cells, digest food internally, produce swimming larvae, and share ancestry with other animals.
- Status
- Reclassified
- Category
- Zoology
- Accepted for
- Not quantified
- Changed approximately
- 18th–19th centuries
Not a fact anymore
Corals were commonly classified with plants or “plant-like” marine growths rather than animals.
What we know now
Corals are animals in the phylum Cnidaria. Each colony is made of polyps that capture food, digest it, and often live in partnership with photosynthetic algae.
- Status
- Reclassified
- Category
- Zoology
- Accepted for
- Not quantified
- Changed approximately
- 1720s–1750s
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