Animals
- Paleontology
Fossils push back origins of modern mammals
Fossils of three newly identified early mammals from China suggest that the common ancestor of today’s mammals lived over 200 million years ago.
- Animals
Strong social bonds help lady baboons live longer
Wild, female baboons with stronger social connections with both female and male baboons live longer than females with weaker ties, a new study shows.
- Life
North American bird update finds a little good news
Conservation measures have succeeded in improving the plight of certain North American bird species, but overall the national report card says “needs improvement.”
- Animals
Coral trout know when it’s time for team hunting
In certain situations, coral trout appear to be as good as chimpanzees at knowing when to collaborate, a new study suggests.
- Animals
Mystery mushroomlike sea creatures get names
Specimens of a mushroomlike animal from the sea now have a scientific name, but researchers aren’t sure what kind of animal they are.
- Animals
A brief history of animal death in space
The Russian “sexy space geckos” join a long list of creatures that have died after humans sent them into space.
- Animals
Numbers of California blue whales rebound
Blue whales, the largest animals on Earth, were hunted nearly to extinction. Now the population that feeds off the coast of California appears to have rebounded to close to prewhaling numbers.
- Animals
Archerfish mouth is the secret of precision spit
Trained fish shoot down two hypotheses for their fine spit control but reveal fancy mouth work.
- Animals
A fish reared out of water walks better
The normally aquatic fish Senegal bichir raised on land suggests how ancient species might have transitioned into terrestrial ones.
- Animals
Ducks may like water, but they don’t use it to navigate
Scientists tracking ducks in Illinois with radar found that the waterfowl didn’t bother using a river to navigate their way south.
- Animals
Bats hunt ballooning túngara frogs by echolocation
Bat echolocation tracks the billowing vocal sacs of male túngara frogs.
- Health & Medicine
Tiny mites are probably crawling all over your face
Two skin mites, relatives of spiders, might populate the faces of all adult humans, according to a DNA survey.
