Animals

Animals

How dingoes got down under

DNA analysis suggests that Australia got its famous dingoes from a very few dogs brought along with people fanning out from East Asia some 5,000 years ago.

Animals

Time to revise right whales’ family tree?

A statistical analysis of DNA from nearly 400 right whales around the world suggests there may be three species of Eubalena, not just two—a conclusion that may boost conservation efforts.

Animals

Really big guys restrain youth violence

Importing six full-grown bull elephants into a park of youngsters stopped killing sprees by young males.

Animals

Anybody know this fish?

A 2-month marine-biodiversity survey of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge concluded this week, bringing home much data and some novel specimens.

Animals

Whys Guy

Interested in seeing an exploding watermelon, using liquid nitrogen to make ice cream, or knowing why a hurricane spins? Physicist Mats Selen of the University of Illinois has appeared regularly on a local morning TV program to demonstrate a wide variety of physical and chemical phenomena. View video clips of these entertaining presentations. Requires Windows […]

Animals

Trail Mix: Espionage among the bees

Tests with two kinds of stingless bees suggest that the more aggressive species uses scent-based espionage to target raids on the milder species' food.

Animals

A first for mammals: Tropical hibernating

The fat-tailed lemur, the first tropical mammal documented to hibernate, exploits local heat spikes to save energy during the long snooze.

Animals

Sparrows Cheat on Sleep: Migratory birds are up at night but still stay sharp

During their fall migration season, white-crowned sparrows sleep only about a third as much as they do at other times of the year without becoming slow-witted.

Animals

Ultrasound alarms by ground squirrels

Richardson's ground squirrels may occasionally use ultrasound when calling out in response to a disturbance.

Animals

Why does a buddy help another male flirt?

The sidekick male in the two-bird courtship display of lance-tailed manakins has to leave when the mating starts but may reap delayed benefits in real estate and performance practice.

Animals

Farmer ant species may have lost all its males

A fungus-growing ant may be the first ant species known to have no power of sexual reproduction.

Animals

Jumping spiders buzz, thump when dancing

Some jumping spiders, long considered visually oriented animals, turn out to utilize seismic communication for a successful courtship.