All Stories by Jake Buehler
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LifeYawning helps lions synchronize their groups’ movements
A lion yawn is contagious, and when lions start yawning together, they start moving together. Synchronization may be key for group hunters like lions.
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LifeFlamboyant fishes evolved an explosion of color as seas rose and fell
Fluctuations in sea level due to cycling ice ages may have powered an engine in tropical seas that pumped out gaudy fish species.
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AnimalsBee larvae drum with their butts, which may confuse predatory wasps
Dual percussion instruments — one on the head, the other on the rear — give mason bee larvae a peculiar musical gift that may be a tool for survival.
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AnimalsA single male lyrebird can mimic the sound of an entire flock
The Australian birds, already famous for their impressive song-copying skills, appear to be replicating the sounds of a “mobbing flock” of birds.
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AnimalsA mountain lizard in Peru broke the reptilian altitude record
Liolaemus tacnae was photographed 5,400 meters above sea level in the Andes, breaking the highest elevation record for a reptile by about 100 meters.
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LifeA reeking, parasitic plant lost its body and much of its genetic blueprint
The Sapria himalayana flower's extreme parasitic lifestyle inside the body of its host has left a bizarre imprint on its genome.
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PaleontologyThis ancient sea reptile had a slicing bite like no other
Right up until 66 million years ago, the sea was a teeming evolutionary laboratory with a small, agile, razor-toothed mosasaur patrolling the waters.
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LifeMonitor lizards’ huge burrow systems can shelter hundreds of small animals
Two species of Australian monitor lizards dig nests four meters deep. Now scientists reveal that the burrows are home to far more than their creators.
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AnimalsThese spiders may sew leaves into fake shelters to lure frogs to their doom
Madagascar’s huntsman spiders use silk to turn two leaves into a cool hollow. Such microhabitats may appeal to the spiders’ prey, a study suggests.
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AnimalsUsing comb-shaped teeth, Baikal seals feed on tiny crustaceans like whales do
Seals in Lake Baikal use comb-shaped teeth to catch scores of amphipods, a study finds. The diet may be behind the seals’ relative success.
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AnimalsGuttural toads shrank by a third after just 100 years on two islands
Introduced in the 1920s, toads on two islands in the Indian Ocean have shrunken limbs and bodies that may be evidence that "island dwarfism" can evolve quickly.
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AnimalsHundreds of new genomes help fill the bird ‘tree of life’
More than 10,000 bird species live on Earth. Now, researchers are one step closer to understanding the evolution of all of this feathered diversity.