Animals
- Animals
Just enough fat is good for an elephant seal
Fat affects the buoyancy of marine mammals. As elephant seals get fatter, they can spend less energy swimming and more time foraging, a new study finds.
- Animals
Bats jam each other in echolocation battles for food
By blaring a special call at just the right instant, Mexican free-tailed bats can ruin each other’s sonar-guided swoops toward prey.
- Paleontology
Ancient sea creature took to land and sea
A primitive relative of the ichthyosaur had strong bones and big flippers.
- Animals
‘Animal Weapons’ examines evolution of natural armor
Biological arms races have led to the evolution of horns, tusks and other extreme armament in the natural world.
- Animals
Hermit thrushes, humans share some musical basics
The melodious birds share a humanlike bias for notes mathematically related by simple integers.
- Animals
Dog disease threatens Siberian tigers
Canine distemper virus poses a particular danger to small groups of the big cats.
- Life
Hummingbirds take stab at rivals with dagger-tipped bills
Sharp points on the bills of male long-billed hermit hummingbirds may have evolved as weaponry.
- Animals
Remote-controlled rover doesn’t spook penguins
Remote-controlled rovers get close to skittish penguins without bothering them; a chick disguise wins over the wariest birds.
- Climate
Melting ice forces walrus detour
Warming temperatures and shrinking summer ice cover have forced the animals to seek solid ground during feeding season.
- Paleontology
Some trilobites sported dual digestive tracts
CT scans reveal trilobites with two-lane digestive tracts.
- Life
Close look at new fungus reveals origins, spread of salamander killer
A second chytrid fungus described last year targets salamanders and may be spreading in the animal export trade.
- Animals
Ten real-life Halloween horrors in the natural world
Vampires and witches are nothing compared to mind-controlling parasites, nose ticks and antibiotic-resistant superbugs.
