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Artistic representation of the opportunistic burrowing behavior of the hypothetical ancestor of crown snakes, as predicted from reconstructed high-definition 3D whole-brain models (highlighted middle right) shown in dorsal (top) and lateral (bottom) views. In comparison, the reconstruction of the first natural endocast of a fossil snake (Dinilysia patagonica, top right) displays a divergent morphological configuration of the telencephalon (Tel) and provides no or limited information about the diencephalon (Dien), mesencephalon (Mes), cerebellum (Cb), and medulla oblongata (MO) regions. In contrast, the estimated endocast of Najash rionegrina (bottom right) shows similarities with the hypothetical ancestor of crown snakes in several distinguishable telencephalic regions, including cerebral hemisphere (CH), olfactory bulb (OB), and olfactory tract (OT). Reconstructions of the fossil skulls (purple color) are shown around the cranial endocasts. Image credit: Macrì et al., doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adi6888 / Neptalí Ramírez Marcial.

Researchers Shed New Light on Enigmatic Early Evolution of Snakes

Oct 3, 2023 by News Staff

The ecological origin and early evolution of snakes has long been a focus of multiple research fields and remains one of the most enduring and controversial...

The Asian mysterious pangolin (Manis mysteria) separated from the Philippine pangolin (shown here) and Malayan pangolin over 5 million years ago. Image credit: Gregg Yan / CC BY-SA 4.0.

DNA Study Reveals Cryptic New Species of Pangolin

Oct 2, 2023 by Natali Anderson

The newly-identified species, Manis mysteria, is the ninth known pangolin species or the fifth Asian one. The Asian mysterious pangolin (Manis mysteria)...

Pangea Ultima temperature and habitability: (a) mammalian species diversity without the influence of humans; (b) habitable regions (green area) in the Pre-industrial simulation; (c-h) cold month mean temperature (CMMT; degrees Celsius); (c,f) warm month mean temperature (WMMT; degrees Celsius); (d,g) and habitable regions (green area); (e,h) under two end members of our sensitivity analysis: low-pCO2 conditions (280 ppm) Pangea Ultima planetary configuration (in 250 million years); (c-e) and high-pCO2 conditions (1,120 ppm) Pangea Ultima configuration (in 250 million years); (f-h) with global land surface temperature (GLST) (grid-weighted) indicated. Image credit: Farnsworth et al., doi: 10.1038/s41561-023-01259-3.

Climate Extremes Likely to Drive Mass Extinction of Land Mammals in 250 Million Years

Sep 26, 2023 by News Staff

In about 250 million years, all continents will converge to form Earth’s next supercontinent, Pangea Ultima. A natural consequence of the creation...

The Caribbean box jellyfish (Tripedalia cystophora). Image credit: Jan Bielecki.

Box Jellyfish Found To Be Capable of Associative Learning

Sep 22, 2023 by News Staff

In new research, marine biologists trained the Caribbean box jellyfish (Tripedalia cystophora) to learn to spot and dodge obstacles; their findings challenge...

Halomonas phage vB_HmeY_H4907. Scale bar - 100 nm. Image credit: Su et al., doi: 10.1128/spectrum.01912-23.

Virologists Find Previously Unknown Virus in Mariana Trench

Sep 21, 2023 by Natali Anderson

Dubbed Halomonas phage vB_HmeY_H4907, the new bacteria-infecting virus is the deepest isolated siphovirus from the ocean, and it represents a novel abundant...

The painted bunting (Passerina ciris) in Freeport, Texas, the United States. Image credit: Dan Pancamo / CC BY-SA 2.0.

Study: Resident Songbird Eye Size Varies with Urban Light Pollution Levels

Sep 20, 2023 by News Staff

Urbanization now exposes large portions of the Earth to sources of anthropogenic disturbance, driving rapid environmental change and producing novel environments....

Simple schematic representation of the mutilation of the Tree of life because of generic extinctions and extinction risks. The bottom half of the tree depicted as dead branches shows examples of the extinct genera, and the upper half shows examples of genera at risk of extinction. Extinct genera: (I) lower row left - Delcourt’s giant gecko (Hoplodactylus, left), of which the only specimens known were found in a museum without a label, but probably they were found in New Zealand; and saddle-backed Rodrigues giant tortoise (Cylindraspis, right) from Rodrigues Island in the Indian Ocean. Lower row right - Yunnan Lake newt (Cynops, left) from China; and the gastric brooding frogs (Rheobatrachus, right) from rainforests in Queensland, Australia. (II) Second bottom-up row left - thylacine (Thylacinus, left), the largest carnivorous marsupial, last known from Tasmania; and Yangtze River dolphin or baijii (Lipotes, right) from China, one of very few freshwater dolphins. Second bottom-up row right - elephant birds (Aepyornis, left), the largest birds surviving to modern times, represent also both an extinct genus and family (Aepyornithidae) endemic to Madagascar; and Moho birds (genus Moho, right) represent also both an extinct genus and family (Mohidae) from Hawaii. Endangered genera: (III) Third bottom-up row left - King cobra (Ophiophagus, left) from Asia; and gavial (Gavialis, right) from India and Nepal. Third bottom-up row right - Alpine newt (Ichthyosaura, left) from Europe; and Mahogany frog (Abavorana, right) from the Malay Peninsula. (IV) Upper row left: volcano rabbit (Romerolagus, left) known from few mountains close to Mexico City, and elephant (Loxodonta, right) from Africa. Upper row right - ‘i’iwi or scarlet honeycreeper (Drepanis, left) from Hawaii; and kakapo (Strigops, right) a flightless parrot from New Zealand. Image credit: Marco Antonio Pineda.

Study: Human-Driven Sixth Mass Extinction is Eliminating Entire Animal Genera

Sep 18, 2023 by News Staff

Mass extinctions during the past 500 million years rapidly removed branches from the tree of life and required millions of years for evolution to generate...

The infected Formica polyctena ant climbs up and clamps its powerful jaws onto the top of a blade of grass, making it more likely to be eaten by grazers such as cattle and deer. Image credit: University of Copenhagen.

Brain-Encysting Liver Flukes Alter Behavior of Infected Zombie Ants to Avoid High Temperatures

Sep 18, 2023 by News Staff

The brain-encysting lancet liver fluke Dicrocoelium dendriticum induces Formica polyctena ants to climb and bite to vegetation by the mandibles in a state...

This ‘golden orb’ was found at a depth of about 3,300 m in the Gulf of Alaska. Image credit: NOAA Ocean Exploration, Seascape Alaska.

Unidentified Golden, Dome-Shaped Object Found in Gulf of Alaska is ‘Biological in Origin’

Sep 12, 2023 by News Staff

Marine researchers aboard NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer found the still-unidentified specimen at a small seamount in the Gulf of Alaska on August 30, 2023,...

The red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta). Image credit: Alex Wild / University of Texas Insects Unlocked program.

Entomologists Find Population of Invasive Red Fire Ants in Italy

Sep 12, 2023 by News Staff

The red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta) is one of the worst invasive alien species and the fifth costliest worldwide, impacting ecosystems, agriculture...

Austrospirachtha carrijoi. Image credit: Bruno Zilberman & Carlos Pires-Silva, doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.5336.3.8

New Rove Beetle Species Mimics Termites to Steal Their Food

Sep 11, 2023 by Natali Anderson

Entomologists from the Universidade de São Paulo have identified a new species of the termitophilous rove beetle genus Austrospirachtha (tribe Corotocini)...

Sooty mangabeys (Cercocebus atys). Image credit: Luke Fannin, Dartmouth College.

‘Downclimbing’ from Trees Played Role in Early-Human Evolution

Sep 7, 2023 by News Staff

Early humans and apes likely evolved free-moving shoulders and flexible elbows to slow their descent from trees as gravity pulled on their heavier bodies,...

The eclipse-spot razor wrasse (Iniistius bakunawa) from Panay Island, Philippines. Image credit: H. Motomura.

New Species of Razor Wrasse Discovered in Pacific Ocean

Sep 5, 2023 by Natali Anderson

Marine biologists have discovered a new species of the wrasse genus Iniistius living in the Indo-West Pacific Ocean. The eclipse-spot razor wrasse (Iniistius...

An overview of the ecology of Ptiloglossa arizonensis in southeastern Arizona, showing major nectar (Agave) and pollen (Solanum) sources used to provision the larvae. Image credit: Hammer et al., doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1114849.

Cellophane Bees ‘Brew’ Liquid Food for Their Offspring, New Study Finds

Sep 4, 2023 by News Staff

Cellophane bees of the genus Ptiloglossa culture multiple species and strains of Apilactobacillus bacteria (family Lactobacillaceae), which circulate among...

A representative image from animal-borne camera of prey (mackerel, Trachurus spp.) captured by a little penguin (Eudyptula minor). Image credit: Petrovski et al., doi: 10.1098/rsos.221595.

New Study Provides Insights into Feeding and Energetic Behaviors of Little Penguins

Aug 30, 2023 by Natali Anderson

Using animal-borne video cameras, marine scientists have investigated the type, duration and energetic consequences of predator-prey interactions in little...

Live adult female leaf insects showing intergeneric and intraspecific color variability: (A) Pulchriphyllium anangu photographed near Agumbe, India on May 17, 2022 by iNaturalist user vishwanathgowda; (B, C) Phyllium ortizi reared and photographed by Maxime Ortiz from France in captivity: (B) brown form female, (C) green form female. Image credit: Vishwanath Gowda / Maxime Ortiz / Cumming et al., doi: 10.3897/zookeys.1173.104413.

Entomologists Discover Seven New Species of Leaf Insects

Aug 29, 2023 by Natali Anderson

An international team of entomologists has described seven new species in the leaf insect genera Phyllium and Pulchriphyllium from Philippines, Vietnam,...

Dynamic color change of hogfish (Lachnolaimus maximus). Image credit: Schweikert et al., doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-40166-4.

Hogfish Can Monitor Its Own Skin as It Changes Color, New Study Shows

Aug 22, 2023 by News Staff

The hogfish (Lachnolaimus maximus), a common fish in the western Atlantic Ocean from North Carolina to Brazil, is known for its color-changing skin. The...

The African wildcat (Felis lybica) by John Anderson in Zoology of Egypt.

How Cats Evolved from the Savanna to Your Sofa

Aug 21, 2023 by The Conversation

The African wildcat (Felis silvestris lybica) is the ancestor of our beloved household pets. And despite changing very little, their descendants have become...

Archaic human peptides display in vitro and in vivo antimicrobial activities with low host toxicity. Image credit: Ella Marushchenko.

Scientists ‘Resurrect’ Extinct Antimicrobial Peptides of Neanderthals and Denisovans

Aug 16, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Molecular de-extinction could offer avenues for drug discovery by reintroducing bioactive molecules that are no longer encoded by living organisms. Archaic...