Animals
- Genetics
To study Galápagos cormorants, a geneticist gets creative
To collect DNA from four cormorant species, this scientist called in bird scientists far and wide.
- Animals
Frog-hunting bats have ‘cocktail party effect’ workaround
Test with robotic frogs finds bats that hunt amphibians switch their attention to other clues if outside noise masks the mating chorus.
- Life
Rattlesnakes have reduced their repertoire of venoms
The most recent common ancestor of today’s rattlesnakes had a huge set of toxin-producing genes. Modern rattlesnake species have independently ditched some of these genes.
- Animals
Hawaiian crows ace tool-user test
The almost-extinct Hawaiian crow joins the small, select flock of birds shown to use sticks tools routinely and well to wiggle bits of food out of crevices.
- Animals
Sandboxes keep chicken parasites at bay
Fluffing feathers in sand and dust prevents severe mite infections in cage-free hens.
- Animals
Kauai’s native forest birds are headed toward extinction
Kauai’s honeycreepers are losing their last refuges from mosquito-borne diseases that are spreading due to climate change. Some could become extinct within a decade.
- Paleontology
Pterosaurs weren’t all super-sized in the Late Cretaceous
A 77-million-year-old flying reptile may be the smallest pterosaur of the Late Cretaceous.
- Animals
As IUCN votes on ivory trade, elephants’ future looks bleak
As the IUCN prepares to debate an end to the ivory trade, two new reports show just how poorly Africa’s elephant species are faring.
- Animals
Tiny structures give a peacock spider its radiant rump
Peacock spiders use pigments and complex nanostructures to achieve bright dance costumes.
- Paleontology
Preteen tetrapods identified by bone scans
Roughly 360 million years ago, young tetrapods may have schooled together during prolonged years as juveniles in the water.
- Paleontology
Jurassic ichthyosaur dubbed ‘Storr Lochs Monster’ unveiled
A rare, 170-year-old skeleton discovered in Scotland is one of the best-preserved ichthyosaur fossils from the Middle Jurassic.
- Life
California’s goby is actually two different fish
One fish, two fish: California’s tidewater goby is two species.
