Animals
- Animals
An island in the Maldives is made of parrotfish poop
Coral-eating parrotfish create much of the sediment that a reef island is made of, a new study finds.
- Paleontology
Ancient brain fossils hint at body evolution of creepy-crawlies
Fossilized brains — found in the Burgess Shale in western Canada — offer clues to how arthropods morphed from soft- to hard-bodied animals.
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- Animals
Animal moms sacrifice a lot — sometimes even themselves
In the animal kingdom, there are bad mothers and good ones — and then there are those that let their kids eat them.
- Climate
Flood planners should not forget beavers
Beaver dams can reduce flooding downstream, new research shows.
- Animals
Ivory listings found on Craigslist as elephant poaching continues
Elephants are hunted by the thousands to meet demand for ivory products.
- Paleontology
Oldest known avian relative of today’s birds found in China
Fossil find suggests modern birds’ oldest avian relative lived about 6 million years before previous record holder.
- Animals
Stretchy nerves help some big whales open wide
Blue whales and their closest relatives have stretchy nerves near their mouths so they can open wide and swallow a lot of prey.
- Animals
Lazy sunfish are actually active predators
Ocean sunfish were once thought to be drifting eaters of jellyfish. But they’re not, new research shows.
- Animals
Beetle’s toxic, explosive vapor explained
From a two-chambered gland in their rears, bombardier beetles unleash a toxic, blazing hot spray to defend themselves.
- Animals
Climate change revs up extinction risks
One in six species on the planet may face extinction if the global temperatures continue to rise.
- Animals
Rock-wielding monkeys make adjustments when cracking nuts
Videos show that monkeys carefully pound open nuts to avoid smashing kernels inside.
