Animals
- Animals
Silver ant hairs reflect sunlight, keeping Sahara dweller cool
The shiny hairs of the Saharan silver ant simultaneously reflect sunlight and permit the release of body heat, keeping the insects just cool enough to scavenge in the extreme summer sun.
By Andrew Grant - Animals
When baboons travel, majority rules
GPS study suggests baboons use simple rules to resolve travel disputes without leaders.
By Bruce Bower - Genetics
Ivory DNA pinpoints poaching hot spots
Genetic analysis of ivory DNA reveals major poaching hot spots in Africa.
By Meghan Rosen - Animals
Kangaroos are lefties
Scientists find evidence of handedness in marsupials that walk on two, but not four, legs.
- Animals
Unpredictable egg scramble throws off parasitic parents
Eggs of some species of warbler and weaver birds appear to have individual signatures, which can help distinguish them from the eggs of parasitic cuckoos.
- Animals
How mantis shrimps spar
In ritualized combat between deadly mantis shrimp, blows count but don’t kill.
By Susan Milius - Animals
One bold, misinformed spider slows a colony’s ability to learn
Incorrect ideas prove more dangerous in bold velvet spiders than in shyer ones.
By Susan Milius - Animals
Unpredictable egg scramble throws off parasitic parents
Eggs of some species of warbler and weaver birds appear to have individual signatures, which can help distinguish them from the eggs of parasitic cuckoos.
- Animals
With Tasmanian devils gone, possums come down from the trees
In areas where Tasmanian devils have largely disappeared, their prey is becoming more adventuresome, a new study finds.
- Animals
Moon jellies muscle their way to recovery
Symmetrization, using rapid muscle movements to repair body symmetry, is the go-to healing mechanism for the limbed stage of moon jellyfish.
- Animals
Male peacocks keep eyes low when checking out competition
Eye-tracking technology shows peacocks barely gaze at the full height of other males magnificent eyespot feather spreads.
By Susan Milius - Animals
How a trap-jaw ant carries a baby
Powerful jaws make the Odontomachus brunneus ant a skilled escape artist.
By Susan Milius