Life

Paleontology

Family Meal: Cannibal dinosaur known by its bones

Analyses of the gnaw marks on bones of Majungatholus atopus, a carnivorous dinosaur from Madagascar, indicate that the creatures routinely fed on members of their own species.

Paleontology

Fossils of early salamanders found

A recent discovery of fossilized salamanders pushes back a milestone in amphibian evolution by more than 100 million years.

Paleontology

Fine Toothcomb: New fossils add to primate-origins debate

The discovery of 40-million-year-old teeth and jaw fragments belonging to ancient forms of lorises and bushbabies doubles the age of the fossil record for a major primate group.

Animals

Secret Signal: Fish allurement that predators don’t see

In a rare demonstration of secret messaging in animals, a swordtail fish uses ultraviolet courtship signals that are invisible to a predator.

Animals

At last, a bird that nails killer chicks

For the first time, researchers have found a bird species—Australia's superb fairy-wren—that reacts when all its own chicks disappear and a giant imposter takes their place.

Animals

Techno Crow: Do birds build up better tool designs?

Researchers surveying tool use by New Caledonian crows propose that the birds may be the first animals besides people shown to ratchet up the sophistication of their technology by sharing design improvements.

Paleontology

Was T. rex just a big freeloader?

A new study suggests that an ecosystem like today’s African savanna could provide sufficient carrion to nourish a scavenger the size of a Tyrannosaurus rex.

Animals

Ants lurk for bees, but bees see ambush

A tropical ant has perfected the un-antlike behavior of hunting by ambush, but its prey, a sweat bee, has developed some tricks of its own.

Animals

Fish That Decorate: Females prefer nests with pizzazz

If scientists give foil strips to male stickleback fish, the fellows carry them back to their nests for decoration, and it turns out that females seem to like guys with lots of shiny stuff.

Animals

Vampire bats don’t learn from bad lunch

For the first time, a mammal has flunked a controlled test for developing a food aversion after getting sick just once, and that unusual creature is the common vampire bat.

Paleontology

Pretty Pollen

The pinup of the pollen grain of the month is just one of several intriguing features at this University of Arizona Web site devoted to palynology–the study of the microscopic, decay-resistant remains of plants and animals. The site provides definitions, illustrations, a brief history, a section for kids, and examples of applications in archaeology, paleoecology, […]

Ecosystems

Spring Forward

Scientists who study biological responses to seasonal and climatic changes have noted that the annual cycles for many organisms are beginning earlier on average, as global temperatures rise.