Search Results for: Vertebrates

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1,477 results
  1. A photo of a fossilized bat skeleton
    Paleontology

    Newfound bat skeletons are the oldest on record

    The newly identified species Icaronycteris gunnelli lived about 52.5 million years ago in what is now Wyoming and looked a lot like modern bats.

    By Sid Perkins
  2. An illustration of a pterosaur flying over rocky terrain with mountains, a body of water and the sun in the background.

    New discoveries are bringing the world of pterosaurs to life

    The latest clues hint at where pterosaurs — the first vertebrates to fly — came from, how they evolved, what they ate and more.

    By Sid Perkins
  3. 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
  4. An image of a 3-D reconstruction of a spiny mouse skeleton on a black background. The mouse's tail is shown in red with a close-up of the plates that sit in the rodent's skin.
    Life

    Spiny mice have armadillo-like armor in their tails

    CT scans revealed the bony plates in the rodents’ tails. The hidden armor may protect against attacking predators or other spiny mice.

    By Jake Buehler
  5. A photo of a Tyto alba barn owl standing on a log on the ground. The owl is looking at the camera with its body turned away.
    Animals

    Volcanic sulfur may make barn owls grow redder feathers

    Barn owls on volcanic islands tend to have redder plumage than those on nonvolcanic islands, possibly due to an influx of sulfur in the environment.

    By Jake Buehler
  6. An illustration of a Tyrannosaurus eating a smaller dinosaur with half of that dino's body visible.
    Life

    T. rex may have had lips like a modern lizard’s

    Dinosaurs like Tyrannosaurus have long been portrayed as lipless, but new research suggests this wasn’t so.

    By Jake Buehler
  7. 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
  8. 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
  9. 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

  10. Good with tools? You may be a cockatoo

    Editor in chief Nancy Shute talks about smart animals, from tool-using cockatoos to "self-aware" fish.

    By Nancy Shute
  11. 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
  12. 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