Animals

  1. Animals

    Wing Ding: Bird rubs feathers for cricketlike song

    Scientists say that they have found the first vertebrate to make its courtship music in the same way as a cricket does.

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  2. Animals

    Meat-Eating Caterpillar: It hunts snails and ties them down

    A newly named species of Hawaiian caterpillar sneaks up on a resting snail and quickly spins silk strands around it, lashing it to the spot, and then eats it.

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  3. Animals

    Ladybug mom provides infertile eggs as baby food

    When food gets scarce, multicolored Asian ladybugs lay extra dud eggs that can end up as emergency rations for their young.

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  4. Animals

    Is eyeless sea creature fishing with a red light?

    Researchers off the coast of California have captured three deep-water siphonophores, relatives of jellyfish, and observed in the lab that the creatures twitch little red lights that could be lures for fish.

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  5. Animals

    More junk makes for better dads

    A new analysis links dutiful fatherhood in prairie voles to a stretch of DNA once dismissed as meaningless.

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  6. Animals

    He Clones, She Clones: Dad, mom ants as different species

    In the little fire ant, males and queens clone themselves, the closest science has gotten to declaring males and females as separate species.

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  7. Animals

    Save the Tapir

    Tapirs are relatives of horses and rhinos. Sometimes known as “living fossils,” these unusual animals inhabit jungle and forest lands in Central and South America and Southeast Asia. The Tapir Gallery provides information about tapirs, including images and an extensive bibliography. A student section of the Web site, produced by the Tapir Preservation Fund, provides […]

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  8. Animals

    Dee for Danger: Chickadees add notes as threat grows

    Chickadees change their alarm calls depending on how serious a lurking predator seems.

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  9. Animals

    Sponge Moms: Dolphins learn tool use from their mothers

    Dolphins that carry sponges on their beaks while looking for food may have learned the trick from their mothers instead of just inheriting a sponge-use gene.

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  10. Animals

    Comeback Bird

    Looking for a long-lost woodpecker had its special challenges, including anticipating what would happen if the hunt actually succeeded.

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  11. Animals

    Anemone Wars: Clone armies deploy scouts, attack tidally

    The first description of clashing armies of sea anemones has revealed unsuspected military tactics.

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  12. Animals

    New Mammals: Coincidence, shopping yield two species

    Researchers have identified a new species of monkey in Africa and a rodent in Asia that belongs to a new family among mammals.

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