Animals

  1. Paleontology

    Ancient sea creature took to land and sea

    A primitive relative of the ichthyosaur had strong bones and big flippers.

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  2. 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.

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  3. Animals

    Hermit thrushes, humans share some musical basics

    The melodious birds share a humanlike bias for notes mathematically related by simple integers.

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  4. Animals

    Dog disease threatens Siberian tigers

    Canine distemper virus poses a particular danger to small groups of the big cats.

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  5. 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.

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  6. 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.

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  7. Climate

    Melting ice forces walrus detour

    Warming temperatures and shrinking summer ice cover have forced the animals to seek solid ground during feeding season.

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  8. Paleontology

    Some trilobites sported dual digestive tracts

    CT scans reveal trilobites with two-lane digestive tracts.

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  9. 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.

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  10. 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.

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  11. 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.

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  12. 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.

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