Biology News

May 8, 2014 by News Staff

Entomologists from Switzerland led by Dr Rainer Neumeyer have described a new species of the wasp genus Polistes from Central Europe. The Swiss paper wasp, Polistes helveticus. Image credit: Neumeyer R et al. Polistes is a member of the wasp subfamily Polistinae (also known as paper wasps) and is the largest genus within the family Vespidae, with more than 300 species and subspecies. Recent research has discovered some paper wasps have a special talent...

May 7, 2014 by News Staff

Scientists from the Universidad de La República in Uruguay have described three new species of tarantulas from northern Argentina. The newly discovered...

May 6, 2014 by Sergio Prostak

A newly discovered species of spider, scientifically named Cebrennus rechenbergi, can flip like a gymnast. The Moroccan flic-flac spider, Cebrennus rechenbergi....

May 6, 2014 by News Staff

Biologists led by Dr Somsak Panha from Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok have described a new genus and three new species of carnivorous land snails...

May 2, 2014 by News Staff

Some species of bees and butterflies enjoy an occasional taste of crocodile tears, according to Dr Carlos de la Rosa from the La Selva Biological Station...

May 2, 2014 by News Staff

According to a team of biologists led by Dr Gregory Dick from the University of Michigan, at deep-sea hydrothermal vents in the western Pacific, previously...

Apr 29, 2014 by News Staff

A new study, reported in the journal Functional Ecology and headed by Dr Ismael Galván from the Spanish National Research Council, is the first evidence...

Apr 29, 2014 by Natali Anderson

Australian biologists have described a new species of dasyurid marsupial within the genus Antechinus. The Black-tailed Antechinus, Antechinus arktos. Image...

Apr 28, 2014 by News Staff

The Southern California erythracarid mite species, Paratarsotomus macropalpis, which is smaller than sesame seed, can run up to 322 body lengths per second,...

Apr 25, 2014 by Enrico de Lazaro

The Alligator snapping turtle (Macrochelys temminckii), long thought to be a single species, is actually three species, according to a new study published...

Apr 24, 2014 by News Staff

A new study led by Dr Denise Risch from NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center provides conclusive evidence that mysterious ocean sounds known...

Apr 23, 2014 by News Staff

Ichthyologists have described a new genus and species of electric knifefish from the Rio Negro, the Amazonia State of Brazil. Procerusternarchus pixuna....

Apr 22, 2014 by News Staff

Linguistic, ecological, archaeological and genetic evidence show that the domesticated chili pepper, Capsicum annuum, originated in central-east Mexico...

Apr 21, 2014 by News Staff

Marine biologists have described a new species of beaked whale known only from seven specimens found stranded on tropical islands in the western and central...

Apr 18, 2014 by News Staff

Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) select a certain type of wood to make their nests, says a team of biologists from the United States. A male chimpanzee at...

Apr 18, 2014 by News Staff

Biologists from the United States and Mexico have described a new orchid species from a mountainous area in central Panama. Lophiaris silverarum. Image...

Apr 15, 2014 by News Staff

Marine biologists from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) and three Canadian research organizations have described four new species of...

Apr 15, 2014 by Sergio Prostak

Herpetologists from the University of Tulsa and Arkansas Game and Fish Commission have described a new species of salamander from Lake Catherine State...

Apr 14, 2014 by News Staff

A new study on the skulls of Red panda (Ailurus fulgens) and Giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), published in the journal Biology Letters, offers explanation...

Apr 10, 2014 by News Staff

Petrocephalus boboto and Petrocephalus arnegardi, two new species of weakly electric fish, have been described from the Congo River. Petrocephalus boboto...