Animals
- 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.
- Earth
Early animals couldn’t catch a breath
Low levels of oxygen may have hindered evolution of animal life hundreds of millions of years ago.
- Animals
Birds large and small hop over obstacles in similar ways
Bipedal birds, from tiny quail to huge ostriches, tackled a step in a similar way, minimizing energy cost and maximizing safety.
- Animals
New frog species discovered in New York City
A new frog species lives up and down the East Coast. It was discovered when ecologists realized its ‘ribbit’ was distinct from the calls of a lookalike species.
- Life
A little good news for giant tortoises in the Galapagos
The giant tortoise population on the Galapagos island of Española is on the rebound, but there are still concerns about other markers of conserving the endangered species.
