Animals
- Animals
Snail Highways: By following trails, periwinkles save slime
A snail that follows another snail's slimy path saves energy by not having to secrete so much mucus.
By Susan Milius - Animals
Science behind the Soap Opera
Tight family groups of meerkats in Africa's arid lands offer a chance to see the costs, as well as the charms, of cooperation. With audio.
By Susan Milius - Animals
Bird Plans: Jays show foresight in breakfast menus
The strongest evidence yet that animals plan ahead may come from western scrub jays preparing for their morning meals.
By Susan Milius - Animals
Perils of Migration: New evidence that bats stalk birds
Big Mediterranean bats snatch migrating songbirds out of the night sky in spring and fall.
By Susan Milius - Animals
What’s Going on Down There?
In a 10-year, global effort, researchers exploring the unknowns of marine life have found bizarre fish, living-fossil shrimp, giant microbes, and a lot of other new neighbors.
By Susan Milius - Animals
Do flies eat their sibs before birth?
A tiny fly that parasitizes cicadas could be the first insect species that's recognized to practice prenatal cannibalism.
By Susan Milius - Animals
Glittering male seeks fluorescing female
A tropical jumping spider needs ultraviolet light for courtship.
By Susan Milius - Animals
Bite This: Borrowed toad toxins save snake’s neck
An Asian snake gets toxins by salvaging them from the poisonous toads it eats.
By Susan Milius - Animals
Guys Roll Eyes: Fish show some eyeball to their rivals
During breeding season, male fish roll their eyes to send a quick "Back off, punk" signal to other males, researchers say.
By Susan Milius - Animals
No-Dad Dragons: Komodos reproduce without males
Two female Komodo dragons in zoos have startled their keepers by laying viable eggs without males, possibly as a last resort at a time when mates are in increasingly short supply.
By Susan Milius - Animals
Extreme Tongue: Bat excels at saying ‘Aah’
The new champion among mammals at sticking out its tongue is a small bat from Ecuador.
By Susan Milius - Animals
Ebola Die-Off: Gorilla losses tallied in central Africa
Between 2001 and 2005, Ebola virus killed at least 5,500 lowland gorillas in the Republic of the Congo.
By Nathan Seppa