Biology News

Why Do Zebras Have Stripes? Not for Camo, Scientists Say

Photographs of (a) plains, (b) mountain, and (c) Grevy’s zebra, and (d) African wild ass in the Tierpark Zoo, Berlin. Image credit: Tim Caro.
Jan 25, 2016 by News Staff

In a study published online in the journal PLoS ONE, scientists found that zebra stripes cannot be involved in allowing the animals to blend in with the background of their environment, because at the point at which predators can see a zebra’s stripes, they probably already have heard or smelled their zebra prey. Photographs of (a) plains, (b) mountain, and (c) Grevy’s zebra, and (d) African wild ass in the Tierpark Zoo, Berlin. Image credit:...

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The Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula). Image credit: Citron / CC-BY-SA-3.0.

Biologists: Carnivorous Venus Flytraps Can Count

Jan 25, 2016 by News Staff

Carnivorous plants, such as the Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula), depend on an animal diet when grown in nutrient-poor soils. They sense the arrival of...

Liolaemus uniformis: male (top) and female. Image credit: Troncoso-Palacios J. et al.

Scientists Discover New Species of Iguana

Jan 23, 2016 by News Staff

Scientists have discovered a new species of iguana in the mountains of central Chile, called Liolaemus uniformis. Liolaemus uniformis: male (top) and female....

An adult male of Frankixalus jerdonii is emerging out of a tree hole. Image credit: S.D. Biju.

Scientists Describe New Genus of Tree Hole Breeding Frogs

Jan 22, 2016 by Natali Anderson

A new genus of tree hole breeding frogs has been described and named by a group of scientists led by University of Delhi researcher S. D. Biju. An adult...

The Himalayan forest thrush (Zoothera salimalii). Image credit: Craig Belsford.

Himalayan Forest Thrush: Scientists Discover New Species of Bird

Jan 20, 2016 by News Staff

A group of scientists led by Dr. Per Alström of Uppsala University has described a new species of bird from the northeastern India and adjacent parts...

This picture of elusive bush dogs was taken by a camera trap in the wet tropical forest of Pirre, Panama. Image credit: GEMAS Panamá / Fundación Natura / Fondo Darién / Fundación Yaguará Panamá / Southern Illinois University.

Camera Traps ‘Capture’ Elusive Bush Dogs in Panama

Jan 20, 2016 by Natali Anderson

Motion-sensitive cameras placed at several sites in Panama have captured images of the bush dog (Speothos venaticus), one of the most enigmatic of the...

Proportional diversity of arthropod orders across all rooms in the study. Image credit: Bertone M.A. et al., doi: 10.7717/peerj.1582.

U.S. Homes Harbor More Than 500 Different Species of Insects and Their Relatives

Jan 20, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

Americans share their houses with any of more than 500 different morphospecies of arthropods (insects and their relatives) – at least on a short-term...

Encyclia inopinata. Image credit: Carlos L. Leopardi-Verde.

Encyclia inopinata: New Species of Orchid Discovered in Mexico

Jan 19, 2016 by Natali Anderson

Dr. Carlos Leopardi-Verde of the Universidad de Colima and his colleagues from Mexico and the United States have described a new orchid species from the...

Researchers conducting fieldwork in the Kimberley. Image credit: University of Melbourne.

Scientists Find 20 New Species of Freshwater Fish in Australia

Jan 13, 2016 by Natali Anderson

A team of scientists led by University of Melbourne researcher Dr Matthew Le Feuvre has described twenty new species of freshwater fish from the rivers...

Examples of stimuli used in the study: faces (human happy versus angry, dog playful versus aggressive) and their correspondent vocalizations. Image credit: Natalia Albuquerque et al.

New Study Shows Dogs Can Recognize Dog, Human Emotions

Jan 13, 2016 by Natali Anderson

Dogs can recognize emotions in both dogs and humans by combining information from different senses, according to a study published today in the journal...

Lonchura striata. Image credit: Thimindu Goonatillake / CC BY-SA 2.0.

Songbirds Sing Like Humans, Researchers Say

Jan 12, 2016 by News Staff

Vocal muscles of songbirds work like those of human speakers and singers, according to Emory University scientist Dr Samuel Sober and his colleagues from...

The Sichuan bush warbler (Locustella chengi), Laojun Shan, China. Image credit: Per Alström et al.

Top New Bird Discoveries of 2015

Jan 5, 2016 by Natali Anderson

A small warbler from China, a cryptic species of owl from the Middle East, and a tiny tapaculo from South America are just three of the incredible bird...

The rosette-nosed chameleon Rhampholeon spinosus - a small (up to 50–55 mm snout-vent length, 3 - 3.5 g), tree-dwelling chameleon - can stick out its tongue with a peak acceleration 264 times greater than the acceleration due to gravity. Image credit: Philip L. Shirk et al., doi: 10.1111/ddi.12239.

Small Chameleons Have Mighty Tongues, Scientist Says

Jan 4, 2016 by News Staff

According to Brown University researcher Dr Christopher Anderson, small chameleon species project their tongues further than large species, achieving projection...

A new genus Paragallinula is established for the lesser moorhen, which was previously assigned to the genus Gallinula. This photograph illustrates two diagnostic character states differentiating the new genus from Gallinula: the orange coloration on the frontal shield does not cover the entire shield, and the lack of a contrasting reddish band on the legs proximal to the ankle joint. Image credit: Mark Tittley, via George Sangster et al, doi: 10.5852/ejt.2015.153.

Paragallinula: Ornithologists Describe New Bird Genus

Jan 2, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

An international team of ornithologists from Sweden and New Zealand has described a new genus for a bird species called the lesser moorhen. A new genus...

The Ninja Lanternshark (Etmopterus benchleyi), adult female, 45.8 cm long. Image credit: V.E. Vásquez et al.

Ninja Lanternshark: New Species of Bioluminescent Shark Discovered

Dec 29, 2015 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new species of bioluminescent shark has been described from eight specimens collected off the Pacific coast of Central America at depths ranging between...

A New Caledonian crow (Corvus moneduloides). Image credit: Jolyon Troscianko.

New Caledonian Crows Caught on Camera Making Hooked Stick Tools

Dec 28, 2015 by Enrico de Lazaro

A team of scientists from the United Kingdom has captured first video recordings documenting how New Caledonian crows (Corvus moneduloides) make ‘hooked...

The New Holland seahorse (Hippocampus whitei). Image credit: Sylke Rohrlach / CC BY-SA 2.0.

Marine Biologists Release Video of Male Seahorse Giving Birth

Dec 22, 2015 by Natali Anderson

Marine biologists from the University of British Columbia were lucky to witness a New Holland seahorse (Hippocampus whitei) giving birth in the waters...

Short-nosed sea snakes. Image credit: Grant Griffin / WA Parks and Wildlife Service.

Researchers Rediscover Two Rare Species of Sea Snakes

Dec 22, 2015 by Natali Anderson

A team of scientists from James Cook University and Curtin University, both in Australia, has rediscovered two Australian endemic sea snake species, leaf-scaled...

A greater vasa parrot (Coracopsis vasa) in Madagascar. Image credit: Adventure Expedition Madagaskar / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Scientists Observe Tool Use in Vasa Parrots

Dec 17, 2015 by News Staff

A team of researchers from the United Kingdom has uncovered the first evidence of tool use by greater vasa parrots (Coracopsis vasa), unusual birs found...

The blue-banded bee Amegilla murrayensis. Image credit: Callin Switzer.

Australian Blue-Banded Bees Filmed Headbanging Flowers 350 Times a Second

Dec 16, 2015 by Natali Anderson

A team of entomologists has captured Australian blue-banded bees’ unique approach to pollination – headbanging flowers up to 350 times a second. The...

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