Biology News

Scientists Discover New Species of Deep-Sea Coral in Waters off California

Leptogorgia sp. nov. Image credit: NOAA.
Nov 6, 2014 by News Staff

Marine researchers from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have discovered a new species of deep-sea soft coral that lives in the underwater canyons off the Sonoma coast. Leptogorgia sp. nov. Image credit: NOAA. In September 2014, NOAA scientists aboard the 20-m research vessel Fulmar focused their efforts on the head waters of Bodega Canyon and an area west of Salmon Creek. They used small submersibles to investigate,...

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Male Long-billed hermits (Phaethornis longirostris) use their beaks as a weapon during territorial disputes. Image credit: © Maxime Aliaga.

Hummingbirds Use Their Delicate Beaks as Dagger-Like Weapons

Nov 5, 2014 by News Staff

Male hummingbirds use their beaks as deft, dagger-like weapons when fighting each other for territory, according to a study carried out by a group of scientists...

Bumba lennoni. Image credit: © Laura Miglio / Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi.

Bumba lennoni: New Species of Tarantula Discovered in Brazil, Named after John Lennon

Nov 3, 2014 by News Staff

An international group of scientists headed by Dr Laura Miglio from the Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi in Brazil has described a new tarantula species from...

European bee-eaters (Merops apiaster). Image credit: Rashuli / CC BY 2.0.

Common European Birds Facing Serious Decline, Study Finds

Nov 3, 2014 by News Staff

Europe has 421 million fewer birds than just three decades ago, according to a new study led by Dr Richard Inger from the University of Exeter’s Environment...

The musk deer Moschus moschiferus. Image credit: © Grigori Mazmanyants / WWF-Canon.

Kashmir Musk Deer Seen in Afghanistan for First Time in 60 Years

Nov 2, 2014 by News Staff

The Kashmir musk deer (Moschus cupreus) – a small animal with vampire-like fangs – still lives in the eastern forests of Afghanistan more than...

Three new species of lizards discovered in Australia, from top to bottom: the Cape Melville Rainbow Skink (Carlia wundalthini), the Cape Melville Bar-lipped Skink (Glaphyromorphus othelarrni) and the McIlwraith Bar-lipped Skink (Glaphyromorphus nyanchupinta). Image credit: Conrad Hoskin / Stephen Williams.

Three New Species of Skinks Discovered in Australia

Oct 30, 2014 by News Staff

Australian scientists have described three new lizard species, hidden from humans for millions of years in remote areas of the country. Three new species...

Two Galapagos giant tortoises engage in a dominance display. Image credit: Aaron Logan / CC BY 2.0.

Nearly Extinct Hood Island Giant Tortoises Have Made Comeback from 15 to 1,000

Oct 30, 2014 by News Staff

A population of Hood Island giant tortoises, which once dwindled to just over a dozen, has recovered on the Galapagos island of Española, says a team...

The Atlantic Coast Leopard Frog (Rana kauffeldi), males. Image credit: Feinberg JA et al.

Rana kauffeldi: New Cryptic Species of Frog Discovered in New York City

Oct 29, 2014 by News Staff

A team of U.S. scientists headed by Dr Jeremy Feinberg of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ, has described a new cryptic species of leopard frog...

The African lion (Panthera leo leo) in Namibia. Image credit: Kevin Pluck / CC BY 2.0.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Proposes Protection for African Lion

Oct 28, 2014 by News Staff

Specialists from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have proposed to list the African lion (Panthera leo leo) – a symbol of majesty, courage and strength...

The Andean cock-of-the-rock (Rupicola peruviana), a species in the family Cotingidae. Image credit: Jerry Thompson / CC BY 2.0.

Ornithologists Map Family Tree of Mysterious Cotinga Birds

Oct 21, 2014 by News Staff

Yale University ornithologists Prof Richard Prum and Jacob Berv have mapped out the first large-scale evolutionary family tree for the Neotropical cotingas...

This image shows an unpigmented larva of the gray snapper (Lutjanus griseus). Image credit: Erica Staaterman.

Scientists Record Voices of Fish Larvae for First Time

Oct 18, 2014 by News Staff

A new study published in the journal Biology Letters is the first to document that fish larvae produce sound. This image shows an unpigmented larva of...

A group of Nile crocodiles in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Image credit: David R. Tribble.

Crocodiles, Alligators Hunt in Groups, Scientist Says

Oct 14, 2014 by News Staff

Crocodiles and their relatives such as alligators and caimans often work in teams to hunt their prey, according to a study carried out by Dr Vladimir Dinets...

Aegista diversifamilia. Image credit: Huang C et al.

New Land Snail Species Discovered in Taiwan

Oct 13, 2014 by News Staff

A team of scientists led by Dr Wen-Lung Wu of the Academia Sinica’s Biodiversity Research Center in Taipei has described a new species of land snail...

Minor worker of Cephalotes specularis walking on a tree in the type-locality; note the bright blue sky and clouds mirrored on the gaster. Image credit: Scott Powell.

Entomologists Discover New Form of Social Parasitism in Ants

Oct 7, 2014 by News Staff

The Mirror turtle ant (Cephalotes specularis) – an insect recently discovered in Brazil by entomologist Dr Scott Powell of the Columbian College of Arts...

The Small-spotted catsharks (Scyliorhinus canicula). Image credit: Thomas Ernst / CC BY-SA 2.5.

Sharks Have Personalities, Say UK Scientists

Oct 3, 2014 by News Staff

A new study, led by Dr David Jacoby of the Institute of Zoology in London, UK, has shown for the first time that the fearsome predators of the deep blue...

Young female of the Sonso chimp community using a moss-sponge - a behavior she learned by observing her mother. Image credit: Catherine Hobaiter.

Researchers Document Social Learning in Wild Chimps

Oct 1, 2014 by News Staff

For the first time ever, an international team of primatologists has witnessed the spread of a new tool-use behavior in a wild population of chimpanzees. Young...

The Pissinatti’s bald-faced saki (Pithecia pissinattii), at Juma Jungle Lodge, Brazil, adult male. Image credit: Crijnfotin.

Five New Species of Saki Monkeys Discovered

Sep 30, 2014 by News Staff

Primate ecologist Dr Laura Marsh of the Global Conservation Institute in Santa Fe, NM, has described five new species of the genus Pithecia (saki monkeys)...

A group of bottlenose dolphins in Xcaret, Mexico.

Bottlenose Dolphins Can Sense Magnetic Fields

Sep 30, 2014 by News Staff

Bottlenose dolphins are magnetoreceptive animals, says new research reported in the journal Naturwissenschaften. A group of bottlenose dolphins in Xcaret,...

Global wildlife populations have declined by more than half in just 40 years as measured in the Living Planet Report 2014.

Earth’s Wildlife Populations Dropped by More than Half in 40 Years – WWF Report

Sep 30, 2014 by News Staff

According to WWF’s Living Planet Report 2014, global wildlife populations have declined by 52 per cent in 40 years. Global wildlife populations have...

Andinobates geminisae. Image credit: Cesar Jaramillo / Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.

Andinobates geminisae: New Species of Poison Dart Frog Discovered in Panama

Sep 29, 2014 by News Staff

A team of scientists from Germany, Colombia and Panama led by Prof Andrew Crawford of the Universidad de Los Andes in Bogota has described a new species...

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