Animals

  1. Paleontology

    Ancient wolf skulls challenge dog domestication timeline

    A 3-D analysis of two ancient canine skulls from Russia and Belgium suggests the fossils were of wolves, not dogs.

    By Helen Thompson
  2. Animals

    Tropical wasps memorize friendly faces

    A social wasp species uses sight and smell to keep intruders from hijacking their nests.

    By Helen Thompson
  3. Paleontology

    Monkeys reached Americas about 36 million years ago

    Peruvian fossils suggest ancient African primates somehow crossed the Atlantic Ocean and gave rise to South American monkeys.

    By Bruce Bower
  4. Animals

    Cockroach personalities can speed or slow group decisions

    The mix of temperaments in an alarmed cluster of cockroaches changes how quickly they make group decisions.

    By Susan Milius
  5. Animals

    Migrating ibises take turns leading the flying V

    During migration, ibises flying in a V formation cooperate and take turns flying in wake to save energy, a new study suggests.

    By Helen Thompson
  6. Climate

    Warming Arctic will let Atlantic and Pacific fish mix

    The ultra-cold, ice-covered Arctic Ocean has kept fish species from the Atlantic and Pacific separate for more than a million years — but global warming is changing that.

    By Sarah Zielinski
  7. Animals

    How a spider spins electrified nanosilk

    The cribellate orb spider (Uloborus plumipes) hacks and combs its silk to weave electrically charged nanofibers, a new study suggests.

    By Helen Thompson
  8. Neuroscience

    Chicks show left-to-right number bias

    Recently hatched chicks may have their own version of the left-to-right mental number line.

    By Susan Milius
  9. Animals

    Highway bridge noise disturbs fish’s hearing

    In the lab, blacktail shiners had trouble hearing courtship growls over Alabama bridge traffic recordings.

    By Susan Milius
  10. Animals

    Ant-eating bears help plants

    A complex web of interactions gives a boost to rabbitbrush plants when black bears consume ants.

    By Sarah Zielinski
  11. Animals

    Chameleon tongue power underestimated

    A South African chameleon species can shoot its tongue with up to 41,000 watts of power per kilogram of muscle involved, a new study finds.

    By Susan Milius
  12. Paleontology

    Snakes crawled among Jurassic dinosaurs, new timeline says

    Earliest snake fossils provide evidence snakes evolved their flexible skulls before their long, limbless bodies.

    By Kate Baggaley