Biology News

Study Sheds More Light on Unique Eyes of Deep-Sea Bioluminescent Sharks

Top: phylogeny of sharks analyzed by the team and close-ups of their eyes. Bottom: head of the Viper shark with protruded jaws; note how binocular vision is prevented frontally by an enlarged snout. Image credit: Claes JM et al.
Aug 8, 2014 by News Staff

According to a new study published in the journal PLoS ONE, the eyes of mesopelagic bioluminescent sharks have a higher rod density when compared to other sharks. This adaptation is one of many these deep-sea creatures use to produce and perceive bioluminescent light in order to communicate, find prey, and camouflage themselves against predators. Top: phylogeny of sharks analyzed by the team and close-ups of their eyes. Bottom: head of the Viper shark...

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Horses in Navarre, Spain. Image credit: Mikel Ortega / Richard Bartz / CC BY-SA 2.0.

Horses Can Communicate Using Their Eyes, Ears

Aug 5, 2014 by News Staff

According to a study reported in the journal Current Biology, horses can communicate with their mobile ears and eyes. Horses in Navarre, Spain. Image credit:...

German Shepherd puppy. Image credit: Marilyn Peddle / CC BY 2.0.

Dogs Can Experience Jealousy, Scientists Say

Jul 24, 2014 by News Staff

According to University of California San Diego researchers Dr Christine Harris and Dr Caroline Prouvost, dogs feel jealousy too. German Shepherd puppy....

The Greater mouse-eared bat (Myotis myotis) is an European species of bat in the Vespertilionidae family.

Greater Mouse-Eared Bats Use Polarized Light to Calibrate Their Internal Compass

Jul 23, 2014 by News Staff

The Greater mouse-eared bat (Myotis myotis) is the first mammal that’s known to use polarization patterns in the sky to calibrate an internal magnetic...

This image shows Ctenomys tucumanus, a previously known species of tuco-tuco. Image credit: Er-wiki / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Tuco-Tuco: Four New Species of Gopher-Like Mammal Discovered in Bolivia

Jul 22, 2014 by News Staff

A multinational group of scientists headed by Dr Scott Gardner of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has described four new species of burrowing rodents...

Litarachna lopezae. Image credit: Pešić V et al.

New Species of Mite Discovered in Puerto Rico, Named after Jennifer Lopez

Jul 16, 2014 by News Staff

Scientists led by Dr Vladimir Pešić of the University of Montenegro have discovered a new species of pontarachnid mite in Bajo de Sico – a mesophotic...

Contents of a commercial packet of dried porcini containing three species new to science. Image credit: Bryn Dentinger.

Three New Mushroom Species Found in Shop-Bought Packet

Jul 11, 2014 by News Staff

Mycologists at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, have identified three new species of mushrooms contained within a commercial packet of dried Chinese porcini...

Chimpanzee Intelligence Depends on Genes, Finds New Study

Jul 11, 2014 by News Staff

New research led by Prof William Hopkins of Georgia State University and Emory University has found that some cognitive abilities in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)...

Polar bears. Image credit: Brocken Inaglory / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Scientists Use Satellite Imagery to Track Polar Bears

Jul 10, 2014 by News Staff

High resolution satellite imagery is a very promising tool to track the distribution and abundance of polar bears, say Dr Seth Stapleton from U.S. Geological...

The oxygen-evolving complex (OEC) of photosystem II cycles through five states, where four electrons are sequentially extracted from the OEC in four light–driven, charge-separation events. The ellipses show snapshots of the metal cluster observed in the study. Image credit: Mary Zhu.

Researchers Image Photosynthesis in Action

Jul 10, 2014 by News Staff

Using the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory’s Linac Coherent Light Source – the world’s most powerful X-ray laser, a multinational...

Tandanus tropicanus. Image credit: TropWater, James Cook University.

New Catfish Species Discovered in Australia

Jul 10, 2014 by News Staff

A team of ichthyologists headed by Dr Stuart Welsh from West Virginia University has described a new species of eel-tailed catfish from the Tully River...

Priocharax nanus. Image credit: Ralf Britz.

New Species of Miniature Fish Discovered in Rio Negro

Jul 8, 2014 by News Staff

An international team of ichthyologists led by Dr Ralf Britz of Natural History Museum in London, UK, has described a new fish species from the Rio Negro in...

This image shows a Sooty-capped bush tanager holding a stamen from Axinaea costaricensis in its beak. Note the pollen grains on the bird’s beak, front head, and cheeks. Image credit: Florian Etl.

Axinaea Flowers Blast Pollen at Bird Pollinators, Study

Jul 7, 2014 by News Staff

Plants in the Central and South American genus Axinaea have a unique and highly complex bird pollination system, according to a new study published in...

Macropus rufus by John Gould, 1863.

Red Kangaroos Use Tail as Powerful Fifth Leg

Jul 2, 2014 by News Staff

A new study published in the journal Biology Letters shows that red kangaroos use their muscular tail just like a leg. The red kangaroo (Macropus rufus)...

Box rays, also known as Chilean devil rays, are actually among the deepest-diving ocean animals. Image credit: Jack Cook / Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

Box Rays are Deep Divers, Marine Biologists Say

Jul 2, 2014 by News Staff

Previously thought to be ocean surface dwellers, box rays (Mobula tarapacana) can dive to depths of 2,000 meters, according to a team of scientists from...

Etendeka Round-Eared Sengi: New Mammal Species Discovered in Namibia

Jun 27, 2014 by News Staff

An international group of biologists led by Dr Jack Dumbacher from California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco has described a new species of elephant-shrew...

Yao Ming and Frederick Yeh release an endangered sea turtle back to nature. Image credit: Sea Turtles 911.

Basketball Star Saves Endangered Green Turtles

Jun 26, 2014 by News Staff

The former NBA star Yao Ming has teamed up with non-profit organization Sea Turtles 911 and Hainan Normal University to save Green turtles (Chelonia mydas). Yao...

Falco peregrinus babylonicus. Image credit: John Gould, Birds of Asia, vol. 1, pl. 4.

Scientists Finally Find Elusive Hormone Leptin in Birds

Jun 25, 2014 by News Staff

Researchers have found leptin – a hormone that regulates body fat storage, metabolism and appetite – in the Peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus),...

Monarch butterflies cluster in Santa Cruz, California. Image credit: Brocken Inaglory / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Monarch Butterflies Use Light-Dependent Magnetic Compass during Migration

Jun 25, 2014 by News Staff

Eastern North American monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) use a light-dependent, inclination magnetic compass to orient during migration, according...

Paratropis tuxtlensis, adult female protecting her egg sac. Image credit: Valdez-Mondragón A et al.

New Species of Spider with Strange Camouflage Discovered in Mexico

Jun 24, 2014 by News Staff

Entomologists led by Dr Alejandro Valdez-Mondragón have described a new species of spider from a tropical rainforest in Veracruz, Mexico. Paratropis tuxtlensis,...

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