Animals

  1. Life

    Ancient DNA shakes up the elephant family tree

    DNA from straight-tusked elephant fossils is forcing scientists to reconsider the history of elephant evolution.

    By Maria Temming
  2. Life

    Ladybugs fold their wings like origami masters

    Ladybug wings could lead to new foldable technologies.

    By Emily Conover
  3. Paleontology

    Primitive whales had mediocre hearing

    Fossils suggest that early whale hearing was run-of-the-mill, along the same line as that of land mammals.

    By Helen Thompson
  4. Animals

    Big slimy lips are the secret to this fish’s coral diet

    A new imaging study reveals how tubelip wrasses manage to munch on stinging corals.

    By Helen Thompson
  5. Animals

    Sooty terns’ migration takes the birds into the path of hurricanes

    Sooty terns migrate south from southern Florida and back again. The track sometimes takes the birds into the path of hurricanes, a new study finds.

    By Sarah Zielinski
  6. Paleontology

    Sea scorpions slashed victims with swordlike tails

    Ancient sea scorpion used a flexible, swordlike tail to hack at prey and defend against predators.

    By Helen Thompson
  7. Animals

    Petite parrots provide insight into early flight

    High-speed video shows that tiny parrots direct their hops to use the least amount of energy necessary.

    By Helen Thompson
  8. Life

    How a flamingo balances on one leg

    Flamingos’ built-in tricks for balance might have a thing or two to teach standing robots or prosthesis makers someday.

    By Susan Milius
  9. Animals

    Orangutans take motherhood to extremes, nursing young for more than eight years

    Weaning in orangutans has been tricky to see in the wild, so researchers turned to dental tests to reveal long nursing period.

    By Susan Milius
  10. Climate

    Higher temperatures could trigger an uptick in damselfly cannibalism

    Experiments in the lab suggest that increases in temperature could indirectly lead to an increase in cannibalistic damselfly nymphs.

    By Helen Thompson
  11. Animals

    Blennies have a lot of fang for such little fishes

    Unlike snakes, blennies evolved fangs before venom, through probably not because of any need to hunt big prey.

    By Susan Milius
  12. Animals

    Watch male cuttlefish fight over a female in the wild

    For the first time, researchers have observed the competitive mating behaviors of the European cuttlefish in the field.

    By Helen Thompson