Gopher Biofluorescence Discovered: Underground Species Has a Secret Glow
Researcher discovers that the underground species has a secret glow. You can learn a lot about animals by simply watching them. But some secrets can…
Mammals
Neptune’s Vishnu Otter: A New Species Discovered in Germany
An Indian Otter found at Hammerschmiede: Neptune’s Vishnu otter arrived 11.4 million years ago from Southeast Asia. Researchers from the Universities of Tübingen and Zaragoza…
New Prehistoric “Hobbit” Creature: One of Three Discoveries Suggesting Rapid Evolution of Mammals After Dinosaur Extinction
Research published today in the peer-reviewed Journal of Systematic Palaeontology describes the discovery of three new species of ancient creatures from the dawn of modern mammals, and…
Two New Species of Ancient, Burrowing Mammal Ancestors Discovered in China
120-million-year-old animals evolved ‘scratch digging’ traits independently. A joint research team led by Dr. Fangyuan Mao and Dr. Chi Zhang from the Institute of Vertebrate…
Extraordinary Evolution Research Reveals Mammals in the Time of Dinosaurs Held Each Other Back
A new study led by researchers from the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, University of Oxford, and the University of Birmingham for Current Biology…
Surprising Connection Discovered Between Prehistoric Dinosaurs and Mammals in Their Teeth
When most people think of ferocious, blade-like teeth on prehistoric creatures they picture Smilodon, better known as the saber-toothed tiger. But in the world of dinosaurs,…
Indian Fossils Support New Hypothesis for Origin of the Horse, Rhino, and Tapir
Published in the prestigious Society of Vertebrate Paleontology Memoir Series, these landmark findings of over 350 fossils, will become a reference point for the origin…
Even Among Wild Mammals, Females Live Longer
In all human populations, average lifespans are longer for women than for men. Moreover, nine out of ten supercentenarians — that is, people 110 years…
How Mammals’ Complex “Frankenstein’s Monster” Backbones Evolved
Mammals’ backbones are weird. Compared to other four-legged animals like reptiles, mammal spines are a complex mix of sections of differently-shaped bones. Our Frankenstein’s monster…
Sirtuin Protein SIRT6 Linked to Longevity in Mammals
A member of the sirtuin family of proteins, SIRT6, has been shown to extend lifespans in mammals. Researchers studying the aging process have long been…
Human Y-Chromosome Has Enough Genes to Stay for Millions of Years
The male-sex determining Y chromosome is here to stay, having lost only one gene in the last 25 million years, a new study of human…
Blind Golden Moles Have a Blue-Green Iridescent Sheen, a Rare Example in Mammals
Golden moles, mammals forming the family of Chrysochloridae, which taxonomically is distinct from true moles but to which they resemble due to species convergence, are…
Burmese Pythons Causing Decline of Mammals in Everglades National Park
According to new study that was co-authored by USGS and published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists found that the…
Study Measures Mammalian Growth, Taking 24 Million Years to Go from Mouse to Elephant
Evolution has its quirks, and getting from a mouse-sized animal to a pachyderm didn’t take thousands of years, it took millions. Evolutionary biologists have published…