Animals

Paleontology

Scientists are arguing over the identity of a fossilized 10-armed creature

An ancient cephalopod fossil may be the oldest ancestor of octopuses, but the interpretation hinges on the identification of one feature.

Oceans

Some deep-sea octopuses aren’t the long-haul moms scientists thought they were

Off California’s coast, some octopuses lay eggs in the warmer water of geothermal springs in the “Octopus Garden,” speeding up their development.

Animals

This newfound tarantula is the first known to make its home in bamboo

Bamboo stems provide the spider with ready-made burrows and nests, but the arachnid must rely on other animals or natural forces to gain entry.

Animals

How lizards keep detachable tails from falling off

A hierarchical structure of micropillars and nanopores allows the tail to break away when necessary while preventing it from easily detaching.

Animals

A diamondlike structure gives some starfish skeletons their strength

Electron microscope images of knobby starfish’s calcite skeletons reveal an unexpected architecture that compensates for the mineral’s brittleness.

Animals

Deep-sea Arctic sponges feed on fossilized organisms to survive

Slow-moving sponges, living deep in the Arctic Ocean where no currents deliver food, scavenge a carpet of long-dead critters.

Animals

Male elephant seals aim to get huge or die trying

Males will risk death to eat and grow as large as possible, since only the biggest males mate. But females aim for long-term survival.

Animals

Gory footage confirms orca pods can kill adult blue whales

For the first time, three recorded events show that orcas do hunt and eat blue whales using coordinated attacks that have worked on other large whales.

Animals

Vinegar eels can synchronize swim

Swarming, swimming nematodes can move together like fish and also synchronize their wiggling — an ability rare in the animal kingdom.

Animals

A new device helps frogs regrow working legs after an amputation

A single treatment shortly after adult frogs lost part of their legs spurred regrowth of limbs useful for swimming, standing and kicking.

Animals

Gut microbes help some squirrels stay strong during hibernation

Microbes living in the critters’ guts take nitrogen from urea and put it into the amino acid glutamine, helping squirrels retain muscle in the winter.

Animals

Urban animals may get some dangerous gut microbes from humans

Fecal samples from urban wildlife suggest human gut microbes might be spilling over to the animals. The microbes could jeopardize the animals’ health.