Prehistoric lizard surprises with fish tail

Until now it was thought havøglene had fish-like, but with long narrow body without caudal fin, and they made their way into the water by meander forward, like an eel. Now scientists might reconsider sight. It was an international research team, led by Swedish researcher at Lund University, Johan Lindgren, who discovered a clear imprint...

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Tiger Genome Sequenced, Shows Big Cats Evolved to Kill

The first sequenced tiger genome shows that big cats evolved to kill.Genes for strong muscle fibers and for meat-eating appear narrowly shared, researchers reported, among species as distinct as the African lion and Asia's snow leopard. Scientists mapped the genes of the endangered Siberian tiger (or Amur tiger), both to understand the...

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Embryonic photographs of animals

These amazing pictures of young dolphins, sharks, dogs, penguins and elephants are part of the film «Extraordinary Animals in the Womb» Production National Geographic Channel and the British Channel4. The film Peter Chinn used modern high definition cameras, infrared technology, the 4-D scans, and a lot of computer-generated models. The result...

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Why fish don't need to be schooled in the art of swimming

How do fish swim in schools, effortlessly coordinating their every move? The answer appears to be ingrained in their genes. The genetic basis underlying the complex, social behavior of schooling is revealed in two studies published Sept. 12 in the journal Current Biology. The studies suggest that schooling is not a learned behavior, and...

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News in Brief: Mice lose cat fear for good after infection

Mice may permanently shed a fear of felines when infected with a parasite. The effects linger long after the parasites disappear, a study shows. The protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii can infect most mammals, including humans (SN: 1/26/13, p. 24). But the parasite can reproduce only in the feline gut, so cats need to eat animals infected...

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Peru discovers whale fossils in desert dating back 40 million years

A team of palaeontologists have unearthed a trove of ancient whale fossils, believed to be more than 40 million years old, in Peru’s Ocucaje desert. The discovery provides new evidence of the evolutionary link between sea mammals and their land-dwelling ancestors. Source: H...

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Climate change pushing lobster north, study says

Climate change is a big factor for lobsters and other marine species moving north in large numbers, according to new research published in the journal Science, co-authored by a Halifax university professor. The study, co-authored by Dalhousie University marine biology professor Dr. Boris Worm, compiled 40 years worth of data to explain...

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Jurassic jaws: how ancient crocodiles flourished during the age of the dinosaurs

New research has revealed the hidden past of crocodiles, showing for the first time how these fierce reptiles evolved and survived in a dinosaur dominated world. While most modern crocodiles live in freshwater habitats and feed on mammals and fish, their ancient relatives were extremely diverse – with some built for running around like...

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New rat genus discovered in the birthplace of the theory of evolution

New rat genus A prominent tuft of spiny hair on the back, a white tail tip and three pairs of teats represent the unique set of characteristics describing a new genus of rat which has been discovered in the Moluccan province of Indonesia. This region had a profound influence on the British Naturalist Alfred Russell Wallace who independently...

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Dinosaur Feathers Found in Ancient Amber

Instead of digging through rocks and rubble to find fossils, a group of Canadian paleontologists decided to dig through museums’ amber collections instead. Their unique approach paid off when they discovered feathers and never-before-seen structures, which they think are something called dinofuzz. As described in Science Now, Source: ...

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Conservationists deploy net-flinging cannons, GPS devices to aid restoration of endangered bird

To save one critically endangered bird population, a group of researchers are bringing in the big guns—literally. The researchers deployed a trio of cannons into areas of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, where populations of the red knot, a robin-sized bird species, are roosting and fire nets from the cannons to trap the birds in order to collect...

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4 Legless Lizard Species Discovered in California

Four previously unknown species of snakelike creatures have been found in California — but don't call them snakes; they're legless lizards. Prior to the discovery of the new species, there was only one known legless lizard species in the United States: the California legless lizard. Surprisingly, the newfound legless lizards were discovered...

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Two New Species of Electric Knifefishes Discovered in Central Amazon

These species – Brachyhypopomus bennetti and Brachyhypopomus walteri – are weakly electric relatives of South America’s famous electric eel (Electrophorus electricus) that can produce strong electric discharges of up to 600 volts. By contrast, the new species produce pulses of only a few hundred millivolts from an organ under the body that...

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Shark-like Tails Sped Ancient Sea Monsters Through Oceans

Sea monsters lying in wait for unsuspecting prey sounds scary enough. But slap on a tail that let them run down their dinner—much like today's great white sharks—and mosasaurs could truly be considered one of the ancient world's nightmares. And that's exactly what a new study published September 10 in Nature Communications has confirmed. Source:...

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Beetles trick plants with microbe-laced vomit

Bacteria living inside Colorado potato beetles can fool plants into thinking they’re being attacked by a microbe, rather than a chewing herbivore. Beetles don’t have salivary glands and so they regurgitate oral secretions onto leaves to begin digestion. These secretions contain gut bacteria. Source: H...

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Amazonian Butterflies Drink Turtle Tears

The sight of butterflies flocking onto the heads of yellow-spotted river turtles in the western Amazon rain forest is not uncommon, at least if one is able to sneak up on the skittish reptiles. But the reason why butterflies congregate onto the turtles may be stranger than you think: to drink their tears. The butterflies are likely attracted...

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Found: The First Mechanical Gear in a Living Creatur

With two diminutive legs locked into a leap-ready position, the tiny jumper bends its body taut like an archer drawing a bow. At the top of its legs, a minuscule pair of gears engage—their strange, shark-fin teeth interlocking cleanly like a zipper. And then, faster than you can blink, think, or see with the naked eye, the entire thing is...

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Tiger genome to help big-cat conservation

PARIS — South Korean scientists said on Tuesday they had carried out the first DNA analysis of the tiger and four other great felines in a project to help critically-endangered cats to survive. A team led by Jong Bhak of the Personal Genomics Institute in Suwon unravelled the genome of the Amur tiger, and compared it against those of a...

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Birds Evolved from Maniraptoran Dinosaurs: Study

Researchers from McGill University say that birds have evolved from a group of small, meat-eating theropod dinosaurs called maniraptorans that existed about 150 million years ago. Many maniraptorans were bird-like as they had small body sizes along with hollow bones, feathers, and high metabolic rates, according to the findings of the researchers. Source:...

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PETA Allegedly Exposes Grisly, 'Primitive and Painful Killing' Methods Used in Maine Lobster Processing Facility With Undercover Footage (VIDEO)

New disturbing footage from PETA allegedly exposes a Maine lobster processing facility and its grisly treatment of its animals. (Photo : wikicommons) A video secretly shot by an undercover member of PETA allegedly exposes a Maine lobster processing facility's grisly, illegal methods in killing their crustaceans, and the controversial animal...

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Iran looks to send Persian cat into space

Iran has settled on a Persian cat as the best candidate for its latest trial for a manned space mission it hopes to make by 2020, state media reports. The feline would be following in the footsteps of a menagerie of dogs and monkeys who were among the early stars of the US and Soviet space programs in the 1960s. Source: H...

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Ear Wax From Whales Keeps Record Of Ocean Contaminants

How often do whales clean their ears? Well, never. And so, year after year, their ear wax builds up, layer upon layer. According to a study published Monday, these columns of ear wax contain a record of chemical pollution in the oceans. The study used the ear wax extracted from the carcass of a blue whale that washed ashore on a California...

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Slow-motion world for small animals

Smaller animals tend to perceive time as if it is passing in slow motion, a new study has shown. This means that they can observe movement on a finer timescale than bigger creatures, allowing them to escape from larger predators. Source: H...

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New Snail Species with Semi-Transparent Shell Discovered in Croatia

The Lukina Jama–Trojama is the deepest cave system in Croatia. It is well known for its vertical shape, long pits and great depth of about 1.4 km. The new species, named Zospeum tholussum, is a tiny and fragile snail with a beautifully shaped dome-like semi-transparent shell. Souce: H...

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Orangutans found to plan, communicate future routes

Male orangutans plan their trav­el route up to a day in ad­vance and com­mu­ni­cate it to oth­er orangutans, re­search in­di­cates. An­thro­po­l­o­gists at the Uni­vers­ity of Zu­rich found that wild-living orangutans make use of the plan­ning abil­ity to at­tract fe­males and re­pel male ri­vals. Source: H...

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Infected Monkeys On The Loose In Florida

(WILDLIFE) FLORIDA — It started with three Rhesus monkeys, and now more than a thousand are living freely in the sunshine state. Because many of the animals are infected with the herpes-B virus, wildlife officials are now calling the monkeys a public health hazard—all because a tour guide snatched them from their home and brought them to...

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Dog Houses and Dog House Plans

While the average dog owner would be quick in considering pre-made dog houses as the best dog house options available, there’s actually more to dog houses than the pre-made, easy to set up and ready for occupancy variety. Custom-made dog houses actually have their own growing line of followers, with such products tailor-cut and specified...

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Listing white rhinos as endangered could save all rhinos, conservationists say

The measure will put under the act’s protection the last remaining unprotected species of rhinoceros, a move that the organization says could help protect the other four highly endangered species of rhinos – black, Sumatran, Indian, and Javan – from poaching. The southern white rhino is not as close to extinction as its four cousins, with...

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Choosing the right Cat Carrier

The question that asks “what’s the right cat carrier for my cat?” has been asked by cat owners at one point in time.If you happen to be among the many wondering what deems a cat carrier the right one for your cat, below are two points worth looking into, in helping you determine which cat carrier option is best for you and your furry feline. Understanding...

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The Best Students In The Animal Kingdom

The common chimpanzee is often held up as the most intelligent non-human primate--well, really, the most intelligent non-human animal--on the planet. But that ignores the brilliance of the common chimp's close relative: the bonobo. Kanzi is probably the best-known bonobo in the world; now in her early 30s, Kanzi has exhibited the...

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Reptile: Monitor Lizard

Monitor lizards, large and sometimes fearsome lizards common throughout Africa, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and Australasia, aren't just big and scary: they're also among the fastest learners in the reptile world. Monitor lizards have been proven to be able to count--not just know which of a group has the highest number of...

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Marine Mammal: Bottlenose Dolphin

No surprise here: the bottlenose dolphin is typically thought of as the most intelligent non-human animal after the chimp and bonobo, and the more research we do, the more impressive dolphins become. They've been known to teach each other games and tricks, like walking on their tails or blowing bubble rings; they can use tools (dolphins...

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Blobfish wins ugliest animal vote

The grumpy-looking, gelatinous blobfish has won a public vote to become the official mascot of the Ugly Animal Preservation Society. This gives the fish the unofficial title of world's ugliest animal.The society began as a science-themed comedy night and devised its mascot campaign to draw attention to "aesthetically challenged" threatened...

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Cat Carrier Types – Hard Cat Carriers

Everyone knows how popular cats are as pets, with the fact that pet supplies and pet specialty stores are riddled with different pet accessories and grooming kits proves to back this fact.When talking about pet supplies built specifically for cats, cat carriers are among the most commonly encountered, designed as cases which cat owners can...

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Fish: This One Goldfish

Fish are near-impossible to train; their brains work so differently from ours that the typical way you'd train a dog or pig or parrot doesn't really work. But after years of training, one British man managed to train his goldfish to obey certain basic commands, like nudging a small soccer ball into a goal. Read more about it (and see...

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Bird: Crow

Crows are noisy, scary-looking bullies, which, in the animal world, usually signals intelligence. The crow is perhaps the best problem-solver of the group, but it's also a very fast learner. In a recent experiment, crows were found to remember and communicate the faces of individual people who were thought of as a threat. By the end of...

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Livestock: Pig

Of the most common livestock animals, bred into domesticity for milk or meat or fur, the pig is easily the fastest learner. The pig doesn't pass the famous mirror self-awareness test, but it can use the mirror to find the location of food that's out of sight--which might just mean the pig cares more about food than its own reflection. Yet...

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Dog: Border Collie

As we saw after meeting Chaser, the world's smartest dog, border collies can be frighteningly bright. Stanley Coren ranks them in his book The Intelligence of Dogs as the smartest breed, able to complete a series of cognition tests (learning names of objects, learning new tricks) more reliably than any other breed of dog. Check out...

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Cat: Abyssinian

Intelligence is hard or impossible to measure in most animals, but especially difficult to measure in felines, which are not pack animals and so have little interest in social hierarchies--which means they don't pay much attention to commands from us. Dogs, on the other hand, have instincts to obey the alpha in their pack--which is often...

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