Scientists Puzzled: Tasmanian Devils Have Just Broken the Laws of Scavenging
They are the only known scavengers in the world to have picky diets. If there’s one thing that scavengers do, it’s scavenge: feed on whatever…
Mammals
Tracing Back Through Time: The Secret Life of Tasmanian Devils Is Hiding in Their Whiskers
I know what you did last summer: chemical clues in the marsupial’s whiskers can reveal what they ate months – and even seasons – ago….
New Insights Into the Timeline of Mammal Evolution With Precisely Dated Evolutionary Trees
A new study, published on December 22, 2021, in the journal Nature, has provided the most detailed timeline of mammal evolution to date. The research…
Peto’s Paradox – Biological Enigma Offers New Insights Into the Mystery of Cancer
The cells in the body can be thought of as tiny archery targets, each vulnerable to the deadly arrow of cancer. The more cells a…
Common Origin: Venoms in Snakes and Salivary Protein in Mammals Evolved From the Same Ancestral Gene
A new study has found that a class of toxins found in snake and mammalian venom evolved from the same ancestral gene. A new study…
Primates vs Cobras: How Our Last Common Ancestor Built Venom Resistance After Long Evolutionary Arms Race
The last common ancestor of chimps, gorillas, and humans developed an increased resistance toward cobra venom, according to University of Queensland-led research. Scientists used animal-free…
The Primitive Streak and Building a Human Body Through Gastrulation
In their publication in Science, Professor Guojun Sheng (Kumamoto University, Japan), Professor Alfonso Martinez Arias (Universidad Pompeu Fabra, Spain) and Professor Ann Sutherland (University of…
Baby Seals Can Change Their Tone of Voice – And May Help Unravel the Mystery of Speech
Hoover the seal was initially kept in a family home and could imitate human speech, barking catch phrases in a gruff accent (“Come over here”)….
Strange Animals That Lived Before the Dinosaurs Reveal the Evolutionary Origin of Tusks
A wide variety of animals have tusks, from elephants and walruses to five-pound, guinea pig-looking critters called hyraxes. But one thing tusked animals have in…
Fossil Dental Exams Reveal How Tusks Evolved – Originated in “Very Weird Animals” Called Dicynodonts
Most people picture an elephant when imagining animals with tusks. But many other animals have tusks including warthogs, hippopotamuses, Arctic-dwelling walruses, and even a five-pound,…
Extinct Ground Sloth – Mylodon darwinii – Likely Ate Meat With Its Veggies
New study reveals that Mylodon was an omnivore, unlike its strictly plant-eating relatives. A new study led by researchers at the American Museum of Natural…
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…
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…