Search Results for: Vertebrate

Open the calendar Use the arrow keys to select a date
1,467 results
  1. illustration of brown and tan Xiushanosteus mirabilis fish underwater
    Paleontology

    Ancient fish fossils highlight the strangeness of our vertebrate ancestors

    New fossils are revealing the earliest jawed vertebrates — a group that encompasses 99 percent of all living vertebrates on Earth, including humans.

    By Carolyn Gramling
  2. An illustration of a Natovenator polydontus sitting on top of a body of water with its feet visible below the water line
    Paleontology

    This dinosaur may have had a body like a duck’s

    Natovenator polydontus may have been adapted for life in the water, challenging the popular idea that all dinos were landlubbers.

    By Nikk Ogasa
  3. A wide photo of a valley on Ellesmere Island in Canada with mountains in the background.
    Life

    Fossils suggest early primates lived in a once-swampy Arctic

    Teeth and jawbones found on Ellesmere Island, Canada, suggest that two early primate species migrated there 52 million years ago.

    By Freda Kreier
  4. an illustration of a mammal ancestor, with a rodent-like head and long furry body, exhaling hot air on a cold night
    Paleontology

    Mammal ancestors’ shrinking inner ears may reveal when warm-bloodedness arose

    An abrupt shift in inner ear shape of mammal ancestors 233 million years ago, during a time of climate swings, points to evolution of warm-bloodedness.

    By Carolyn Gramling
  5. This sleeping female glass frog tucks away most of her red blood cells while she sleeps. Her eggs are visible within her transparent ovaries.
    Life

    Sleeping glass frogs hide by storing most of their blood in their liver

    Glass frogs snoozing among leaves blend in by hiding almost all their red blood cells in their liver until the tiny animals wake up.

    By Susan Milius
  6. An orange Brachycephalus or pumpkin toadlet frog photographed from the front, showing his large black eyes.
    Animals

    Here’s why pumpkin toadlets are such clumsy jumpers

    Tiny Brachycephalus frogs from southern Brazil can leap into the air but have trouble landing.

    By Meghan Rosen

  7. Readers discuss a new type of black hole merger, warm-bloodedness and more

    By Science News Staff
  8. A photo of a bluestreak cleaner wrasse.
    Animals

    Fish can recognize themselves in photos, further evidence they may be self-aware

    Cleaner fish recognize themselves in mirrors and photos, suggesting that far more animals may be self-aware than previously thought.

    By Betsy Mason
  9. illustration of a dinosaur fleeing a massive flood
    Paleontology

    The Age of Dinosaurs may have ended in springtime

    Fossilized fish bones suggest that the massive asteroid strike at the end of the Cretaceous Period occurred during the Northern Hemisphere’s spring.

    By Sid Perkins
  10. A photo of a female common death adder on a bed of leaves
    Animals

    Scientists thought snakes didn’t have clitorises. They were wrong

    Snakes were long thought to be the only reptile group to lack clitorises. But new findings suggest the sex organs are present after all.

    By Jake Buehler
  11. An illustration of Shonisaurus popularis, ancient dolphinlike reptiles, swimming in water
    Paleontology

    Mysterious ichthyosaur graveyard may have been a breeding ground

    Some 230 million years ago, massive dolphinlike reptiles gathered to breed in safe waters — just like many modern whales do, a study finds.

    By Carolyn Gramling
  12. photo of six gray sperm whales diving down from the ocean surface
    Animals

    ‘Wonderful nets’ of blood vessels protect dolphin and whale brains during dives

    Complex networks of blood vessels called retia mirabilia that are associated with cetaceans’ brains and spines have long been a mystery.

    By Claudia López Lloreda