Biology News

Crocodiles Can Climb Trees, Biologists Find

Juvenile African slender-snouted crocodile, Mecistops cataphractus, on a tree branch in Loango National Park, Gabon. Image credit: Vladimir Dinets et al.
Feb 12, 2014 by News Staff

According to a team of biologists led by Dr Vladimir Dinets from the University of Tennessee, certain species of crocodiles are able to climb trees as far as the crowns despite lacking any obvious morphological adaptations to do so. Juvenile African slender-snouted crocodile, Mecistops cataphractus, on a tree branch in Loango National Park, Gabon. Image credit: Vladimir Dinets et al. Dr Dinets and his colleagues examined previous studies and made...

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Left: Piper kelleyi. Right upper: close-up of leaves showing characteristic red color of younger leaves; Right middle: close-up of inflorescence; Right bottom: close-up of infructescence. Image credit: Tepe EJ et al.

Biologists Discover New Species of Wild Pepper in Ecuador

Feb 9, 2014 by News Staff

U.S. biologists led by Dr Lee Dyer from the University of Nevada Reno have described a new plant species from the Andes Mountains of Ecuador. Left: Piper...

Psammogorgia hookeri. Image credit: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.

Beautiful New Species of Coral Discovered in Pacific Ocean

Feb 4, 2014 by News Staff

Marine biologists from the University of Costa Rica and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute have discovered a new coral species at a depth of about...

This image shows mysterious 'crop circles' on the seabed off the Island of Møn, Denmark. Image credit: Jacob Topsøe Johansen.

Strange Underwater ‘Crop Circles’ in Baltic Sea Explained

Feb 3, 2014 by News Staff

In summer 2010, European marine biologists discovered conspicuous and mysterious ring formations in shallow waters off the Island of Møn in Denmark. Suggestions...

Pempheris flavicycla marisrubri, Ras Mohammed, Red Sea. Image credit: S.V. Bogorodsky.

Pempheris flavicycla: Amazing New Tropical Fish Species Discovered in Indian Ocean

Jan 31, 2014 by Sergio Prostak

A multinational group of biologists has described a new species of sweeper from the waters of the Indian Ocean. Pempheris flavicycla marisrubri, Ras Mohammed,...

The Paradise flying snake, Chrysopelea paradisi. Image credit: © Jake Socha.

Biologists Offer Insights into Flight of Paradise Flying Snake

Jan 30, 2014 by News Staff

New research explains how a bizarre species of snake scientifically called Chrysopelea paradisi can glide as much as 30 meters from trees. The Paradise...

The Common cuttlefish, Sepia officinalis. Image credit: © Tennessee Aquarium.

U.S. Marine Biologists Reveal Secrets of Cuttlefish

Jan 29, 2014 by News Staff

A study led by Leila Deravi of Harvard University has provided new details on the adaptive camouflage of a peculiar marine animal called cuttlefish. The...

The eye-coral Lophelia pertusa from the reef. Image credit: Bedford Institute of Oceanography.

Greenland’s First Coral Reef Discovered

Jan 29, 2014 by News Staff

A living cold-water coral reef has been discovered by chance in the waters off southern Greenland. This image, taken at a depth of about 900 meters, shows...

The Golden-collared manakin. Image credit: © Scott Loarie / CC BY 3.0.

Study Provides Insights into Courtship Display of Golden-Collared Manakin

Jan 29, 2014 by News Staff

The acrobatic courtship displays of male Golden-collared manakins (Manacus vitellinus) are less energetically costly than they appear, says a group of...

Electron microscopy of Tsamsa phage. Scale bar - 100 nm. Image credit: Ganz HH et al.

Newly Discovered Bacteriophage Kills Anthrax, Scientists Say

Jan 28, 2014 by News Staff

The Tsamsa phage – a giant virus isolated from zebras that died of anthrax in the Namibia’s Etosha National Park – could open up new...

The mantis shrimp. Image credit: Silke Baron / CC BY 2.0.

Study Offers Insights into Unique Color Vision of Mantis Shrimp

Jan 27, 2014 by News Staff

New research conducted by an international team of marine biologists reveals that the mantis shrimp Haptosquilla trispinosa uses a unique color vision...

Morphogenia struhli, male. Image credit: Joseph Parker.

U.S. Biologist Discovers New Beetle Genus

Jan 24, 2014 by News Staff

Dr Joseph Parker, a biologist with both Columbia University and the American Museum of Natural History, has described a new genus of rove beetles from...

The newly discovered Inia araguaiaensis, in appearance, resembles the Amazon river dolphin (Inia geoffrensis), shown in this photo.

Inia araguaiaensis: New Species of River Dolphin Found in Brazil

Jan 24, 2014 by Natali Anderson

Scientists from Brazil and the United Kingdom have described a new species of true river dolphin from the Araguaia River basin, the first such discovery...

Lateral head view of Aetobatus narutobiei. Image credit: White WT et al.

Aetobatus narutobiei: New Species of Eagle Ray Discovered in Northwest Pacific

Jan 23, 2014 by Sergio Prostak

Marine biologists from Japan and Australia have described a new species of eagle ray in the genus Aetobatus. Aetobatus narutobiei, adult male. Image credit:...

Edwardsiella andrillae: Ice-loving Sea Anemone Found in Antarctica

Jan 21, 2014 by News Staff

Researchers from the Antarctic Geological Drilling (ANDRILL) Program have described a new species of anemone from waters beneath the Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica. In...

A female chimpanzee with two juveniles at Kibale National Park, Uganda. Image credit: Julie Rushmore / UGA.

Chimpanzees Can Use Hand Gestures to Communicate, Study Finds

Jan 18, 2014 by Natali Anderson

New research published in the journal Nature Communications has found that chimpanzees can use gestures to coordinate actions in pursuit of a specific...

Rhinella yunga, adult female. Image credit: Jiří Moravec.

Rhinela yunga: New Poisonous Toad Species Found in Peru

Jan 17, 2014 by News Staff

Biologists from Czech Republic, the United States and Peru have described a new species of the true toad genus Rhinella. Rhinella yunga, adult female....

Mimosa pudica at the Botanical Garden KIT, Karlsruhe, Germany. Image credit: H. Zell / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Mimosa Plants Have Long Term Memory, Can Learn, Biologists Say

Jan 16, 2014 by News Staff

By using the same experimental framework normally applied to test learnt behavioral responses in animals, biologists from Australia and Italy have successfully...

The V-shaped flight formation allows each bird to receive lift from the wingtip vortex of the bird in front of it, saving energy and greatly extending the range of a flock of birds over that of a bird flying alone. Image credit: Russell Link / Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Study Explains Why Birds Fly in V-Shaped Formation

Jan 16, 2014 by News Staff

The new research reported in the journal Nature shows for the first time that birds precisely time when they flap their wings and position themselves in...

Eucalyptus bridgesiana tree.

Report: Trees Grow Faster, Store More Carbon as They Age

Jan 16, 2014 by News Staff

According to an international group of scientists led by Dr Nate Stephenson of the US Geological Survey, most of tropical and temperate tree species grow...

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