Tag Archive for 'New Caledonia'

Arnon et al. uncovered the same statistical structure in humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) song that is a hallmark of human language. Image credit: Christopher Michel / CC BY 2.0.

Songs of Humpback Whales Show Human Language-Like Statistical Structure

Feb 6, 2025 by News Staff

An international team of researchers has analyzed the groans, moans, whistles, barks, shrieks and squeaks in humpback whale song recordings collected over...

Tmesipteris oblanceolata. Image credit: Pol Fernández.

New Caledonian Fern Species Has Largest Genome of Any Living Organism

Jun 3, 2024 by News Staff

Tmesipteris oblanceolata — a rare species of fork fern found on the island nation of New Caledonia, an overseas French territory situated in the...

The New Caledonian storm petrel (Fregetta lineata) off Nouméa, New Caledonia, in January 2020. Image credit: Hadoram Shirihai, Tubenoses Project.

New Species of Storm Petrel Identified

Mar 15, 2022 by Natali Anderson

Based on the numbers seen at sea, both off Australia and New Caledonia, the population of the New Caledonian storm petrel (Fregetta lineata) is in the...

New Caledonian crows (Corvus moneduloides) are particularly careful when handling their most valuable tools. Image credit: James St Clair.

New Caledonian Crows Prefer Hooked Stick Tools, Safely Store Them Underfoot or in Holes

Dec 22, 2021 by News Staff

According to a new study, New Caledonian crows (Corvus moneduloides) strongly prefer hooked stick tools made from stems of the ground tamarind (Desmanthus...

Identifying the raw material used by wild New Caledonian crows for manufacturing hooked stick tools: (A) New Caledonian crow holding a hooked stick tool manufactured from Desmanthus virgatus at site-2; (B) satellite photograph showing study sites on the west coast of Grande Terre, New Caledonia; (C) timeline of animal-centered approaches employed while attempting to identify the tool material used at site-3, with short explanations for their limited success; (D) timeline of the artifact-centered, DNA barcoding approach which ultimately led to successful material identification; (i) hooked stick tool recovered at site-3; (ii) Mimusops elengi trees, with close-up of a forked terminal branch, which would be suitable for tool manufacture; (iii) simplified maximum-likelihood ITS phylogenetic tree detailing clustering of tool samples and a subset of reference data; (iv) ‘refit’ of a hooked stick tool made from Mimusops elengi material by a temporarily captive crow from site-1: the tool is displayed along with stem and plant debris which were discarded by the crow during the manufacture process. Scale in mm. Image credit: Steele et al., doi: 10.1073/pnas.2020699118.

Scientists Use DNA Barcoding to Identify Tool Materials of New Caledonian Crows

Jul 27, 2021 by News Staff

Using a taxonomic method called DNA barcoding, researchers have identified, from just a few recovered tool specimens, the plant species New Caledonian...

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

New Caledonian Crows Enjoy Using Tools, Study Finds

Aug 26, 2019 by News Staff

New Caledonian crows (Corvus moneduloides) are well-known for their sophisticated tool use. According to a new study, these birds behave optimistically...

New Caledonian crow with a stick tool. Image credit: Auguste von Bayern.

New Caledonian Crows Can Combine Objects to Construct New Compound Tools

Oct 29, 2018 by News Staff

According to a new study published in the journal Scientific Reports, habitually tool-using New Caledonian crows (Corvus moneduloides) are able to create...

New Caledonian crows know what it takes to make a good tool. Image credit: James St Clair.

Researchers Discover Why New Caledonian Crows Make Hooked Stick Tools

Jan 22, 2018 by News Staff

A University of St Andrews-led study shows that New Caledonian crows (Corvus moneduloides) acquire hidden food several times faster when using hooked...

Study Provides Insights into How New Caledonian Crows Make Their Hooked Stick Tools

Dec 10, 2017 by News Staff

A team of researchers at the University of St Andrews has discovered how New Caledonian crows (Corvus moneduloides) make one of their most sophisticated...

Based on various lines of geological and geophysical evidence, particularly those accumulated in the last two decades, Nick Mortimer et al argue that Zealandia is not a collection of partly submerged continental fragments but is a coherent 4.9 million km2 continent. NC - New Caledonia; WTP - West Torres Plateau; CT - Cato Trough; Cf - Chesterfield Islands; L - Lord Howe Island; N - Norfolk Island; K - Kermadec Islands; Ch - Chatham Islands; B - Bounty Islands; An - Antipodes Islands; Au - Auckland Islands; Ca - Campbell Island. Image credit: Nick Mortimer et al, doi: 10.1130/GSATG321A.1.

Zealandia: Researchers Return from Expedition to Earth’s Seventh Continent

Sep 28, 2017 by News Staff

Earlier this year, Zealandia was confirmed as Earth’s seventh continent, but little is known about it because it’s 94% submerged under water. After...

Meet Zealandia, Earth’s New Continent

Feb 14, 2017 by Natali Anderson

Zealandia — a 4.9 million km2 region of the southwest Pacific Ocean — was once part of the ancient supercontinent Gondwana and today it is...

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...

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

Scientists Find Evidence of Social Learning among New Caledonian Crows

Sep 9, 2015 by News Staff

New Caledonian crows (Corvus moneduloides) make and use tools, and tool types vary over geographic landscapes. How the birds transmit knowledge to each...

Female flower of Amborella trichopoda. Image credit: Sangtae Kim.

Scientists Sequence Genome of Unique Flowering Plant Amborella trichopoda

Dec 20, 2013 by News Staff

A large international consortium of genetic researchers has sequenced and analyzed the complete genome of Amborella trichopoda, the sole survivor of an...

Biologists Discover New Species of Skink

Mar 22, 2012 by Natali Anderson

An international team of biologists has discovered a new species of skink in the northwest region of New Caledonia. Adult male Caledoniscincus constellatus...