01. Metazoa: Ramphastidae or Toucan.

For years, these small, exotic and controversial birds were the headaches of physicists, biologists and scientists. Charles Darwin attributed the size of his beak to a sexual selection without being able to know the other functions.

Today the subject are the bird family Ramphastidae or popularly named toucans, a name that has its origin in the peculiar sounds that they emit and that you can hear in the video here. It also has a peculiar common name, which is diostedé, according to the interpretation that the natives of the region have given to their song by the word “Dios te dé (God give you)”, which is particular to the Ramphastos vitellinus ariel and you can listen here. 

Ramphastos vitellinus ariel or channel-billed toucan. 

The family Ramphastidae of the order Piciformes, described by the Irish zoologist Nicholas Aylward Vigors in the year 1825, includes 6 genera (although being exact, only 5 are valid) and 45 species (for now), most of them have a size between 20 and 60 centimeters and they are distributed in Central and South America. The basis of their diet are fruits, insects, lizards and even eggs or newborn chicks of other birds; In general, your diet should be rich in water due to the small size of your digestive systems and the speed of your digestive absorption. They are sedentary, arboreal birds, build their nests in the hollows of trees and have an average life of 20 years. They are monogamous, they keep their partner all their life. In times of reproduction, it is common to see them playing twigs and food with their beaks. They are oviparous and put one or two pairs of elliptical, white and fragile eggs. Its incubation period is usually from 17 to 20 days, with only one per year. Both parents incubate their eggs alternating and, when the chick has already been born, they are also responsible for feeding the two. When breaking the shell, they are devoid of plumage, like most birds, and they keep their eyes closed for three weeks. The development of the chicks is very slow, and they leave the nest at eight or nine weeks when they begin to look for their own food. Young birds have a shorter beak than adults and do not have the black spot on the tip that characterizes many of them, in plumage there are very few differences by age and sex. At three or four years young individuals are sexually mature.

There is not much need to describe these incredible birds to recognize them with the naked eye, even a small child identifies that they stand out for a very developed beak, colorful, bright, huge and pointed; which is also porous to the degree of looking hollow and too light, which was not always thought so. That beautiful peak they possess occupies a third of the length of his body; Something impressive and that turned biologists and physicists who imagined that it was hard and heavy to crush some fruit or to defend themselves against other animals, but this would have left it completely incapable to fly due to the ratio of the size and weight of its beak with that of his small body. 

Photograph of the skeleton of a Ramphastos toco or toco toucan at the Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia" (Argentine Museum of Natural Sciences "Bernardino Rivadavia"). 

Over time that idea was discarded, the scientists, seeing these birds fly, did not desist to know more about them and, when they managed to get some skeletal remains and capture some specimens to study them better, they realized that the internal structure of the peak was very similar to a sponge or a honeycomb, hard but light. This was observed by making cuts in the beak of preserved skeletons of this animal and analyzing them inside.

But the toucan did not leave us without surprises, its beak represents one of the most impressive discoveries about birds, not because of its unique size, its incredible visual appeal or because it is necessary for the reproduction and feeding of the owner (as if that were not more than enough); if not for its thermoregulatory functions. And in a very entertaining Pokémon has been responsible for giving a new lesson in biology to many of his fans, but I bet we can all learn whether we like it or not the products of this company. 

Toucannon controlling the temperature of its beak, inspired by the thermoregulation of the toucans. 

I present to you Toucannon, a Pokemon character added in his seventh generation (for those who already know each time when characters are added), clearly inspired by a toucan. This seventh generation, born in Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon videogames, stands out for speaking much more than in their past generations of ecology and species adaptation. Without delving deeply into that subject, this character astonished fans of the franchise with the ability of its peak, like the astonishment that many scientists and bird lovers had when the discovery of thermoregulation was announced in these charismatic animals. That's right, Pokémon has taken the idea for his character from this incredible discovery, giving it popularity. 

Porous peak, perfect for aerodynamics. 

This kind of control in body temperature has its reasons and that is that the toucans, like other birds, do not sweat. To control their body temperature, they have numerous blood vessels in their beak, which is formed of soft tissue and covered with keratin, in which they increase or decrease the blood flow according to their needs, functioning as a kind of radiator, which allows them to stay cool. This was not known with certainty until the peak of these beautiful birds was studied thoroughly and with thermographic cameras; You can find the scientific publication here. 

With thermographic cameras we can observe this toucan control its body temperature.
Thermography of Sergio Melgosa.

Basically, the warmer the environment, the hotter the peak will be, but the rest of the body will remain at lower temperatures and, if the ambient temperature drops, the peak will remain cold so as not to radiate too much heat. Something quite incredible, which became a reference and gave guidelines to a series of thermoregulation investigations in other birds and that has gradually spread to other animals; with what will allow us to better know the species with which we share our world and how temperature, one of the most important properties in the environment, influences adaptations and, in turn, how species are formed and spread with these adaptations. 

Although related by millions of years, has already begun with a series of additional investigations into the possible thermoregulation of dinosaurs with the fossils that are available, do not forget that birds are modern dinosaurs. It has been believed for some decades that the family of Stegosauridae, dinosaurs with dorsal plates on the back, and not only them, could carry similar mechanisms of body temperature decrease , transmitting their warm blood to parts with little cellular activity such as crests, plates or peaks for it to cool, mechanism that we are discovering is quite abundant in existing and extinct animals, but those will be topics for another time. 

Toco toucan or Ramphastos toco having a good feast.
Photograph taken by Holger Teichmann. 

They have been hunted frequently by the natives to make ornaments with their multicolored feathers, but the main cause of several species of toucans are in danger of extinction is due to the destruction of their habitat: deforestation of forests, environmental pollution, growth of Urban areas, biopiracy or hunting in their natural environment to be kept in captivity by zoos or individuals. Something unfortunate, they are very coveted birds like exotic pets because of the elegance of their plumage and beak; it is important to clarify that in some countries it is a crime to have a toucan as a pet or to trade with it, so if you see one, it is advisable to report it to the authorities in your area, who must immediately take the birds with veterinary experts. to check their health status and, subsequently, their release if the bird can still respond favorably to living in freedom, since not all of them achieve it because they are accustomed to living with humans and it is impossible for them to survive on their own. 

But that peak has no purely aesthetic purposes and sadly not everyone understands that. Although it was not an illegal pet, but a vandalism occurred in 2015, we are two years away from the controversial case of Grecia, which surrounded Costa Rica with the attention of the world and left several of its politicians in enough processes rough by the protests of activist groups.
Grecia is a Ramphastos swainsonii that at 9 months of age suffered from the loss of the top of its beak after a vandalism, a terrible and regrettable situation for which passed a small bird that became a symbol of struggle against mistreatment of wild animals and also, representative of one of the most important moments for the advances of veterinary medicine and 3D impressions when receiving the first peak prosthesis.

Grecia with its prosthesis in its habitat in Animal Rescue Zoo Ave, Province of Alajuela, Costa Rica. 

Currently Grecia has recovered and a few days ago has completed its first year with the prosthesis, after overcoming a tough recovery process that lasted about a year due to the slow healing of the tissue of its beak to finally receive its first prosthesis on 10 August 2016. For now, he is still living in Zoo Ave and will spend all his life in this place without being released to continue receiving the maintenance of his necessary prosthesis, also because he has become accustomed to that way of life and coexistence with humans. It has not been the only bird with this type of prosthesis, but it has been the first and the one that has caused the greatest commotion at a national and international level. 

This event reminds us of how irrational and horrible violence and cruelty can be, not only with animals but in all their forms. However, we can fight against violence, cruelty and above all ignorance, but we will always get better results using our greatest talents: intelligence, creativity and cohesion (teamwork).

Undoubtedly, the peak of toucans still gives much to talk about. 

I invite you to review the following index of the 6 genera of the Ramphastidae family, where you can find more curious facts about these beautiful birds: 

• Genus Baillonius. 
• Genus Aulacorhynchus.
• Genus Pteroglossus.
• Genus Selenidera.
• Genus Andigena.
• Genus Ramphastos. 

References: 

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/t/toco-toucan/ 
https://www.hbw.com/family/toucans-ramphastidae 
http://www.bowdoin.edu/faculty/n/nwheelwr/dissemination/Howlongdofruiteating.pdf 
http://www.macnconicet.gob.ar/exhibiciones/ 
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8165895.stm
http://es.pokemon.wikia.com/wiki/EP947
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19628866
http://www.elpais.cr/2015/02/01/san-jose-se-tino-de-negro-este-domingo-para-repudiar-maltrato-animal/
http://imprimalia3d.com/noticias/2015/01/26/004205/impresi-n-3d-sale-al-rescate-grecia-tuc-n-al-que-destrozaron-pico
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-31409916
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-34039680
https://www.nacion.com/ciencia/medio-ambiente/empresas-se-unen-para-poner-protesis-a-tucan/3UYTOCVU2FETVA2LTDDS4WE5VI/story/
https://www.elpais.cr/2015/01/13/luego-de-caso-de-tucan-presidente-solis-apura-aprobacion-de-ley-contra-maltrato-animal/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKqeX_8O1vU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RajuScX2aig&t=3s 
https://web.archive.org/web/20070819114100/http://www.nashvillezoo.org/piciformes/ramphastidae.htm