Search Results for: Vertebrate
Skip to results
1,504 results
- Animals
Scientists vacuumed animal DNA out of thin air for the first time
The ability to sniff out animals’ airborne genetic material has been on researchers’ wish list for over a decade.
- Animals
Frog and toad pupils mainly come in seven different shapes
Analyzing over 3,200 species revealed that the colorful eyes of frogs and toads have pupils shaped as slits, diamonds, fans and more.
- Paleontology
T. rex’s incredible biting force came from its stiff lower jaw
T. rex could generate incredibly strong bite forces thanks to a boomerang-shaped bone that stiffened the lower jaw, a new analysis suggests.
- Life
Yawning 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.
- Animals
These 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.
- Genetics
Lizard-like tuatara carry two distinct mitochondrial genomes
Having two mitochondrial genetic instruction books, a first for vertebrates, may help explain tuatara’s unique ability to tolerate cold temperatures.
- Paleontology
Pterosaurs may have been able to fly as soon as they hatched
A fossil analysis shows the flying reptile hatchlings had a stronger bone crucial for lift-off that adults and shorter, broader wings for agility.
- Life
Fires may have affected up to 85 percent of threatened Amazon species
Since 2001, fires in the Amazon have impacted up to about 190,000 square kilometers — roughly the size of Washington state.
- Paleontology
An ancient shark’s weird fins helped it glide like a manta ray
Nicknamed eagle shark, the newly discovered ancient creature achieved underwater flight 30 million years before the first rays.
- Paleontology
Climate change helped some dinosaurs migrate to Greenland
A drop in CO2 levels helped massive plant eaters called sauropodomorphs trek from South America to Greenland 214 million years ago, says a new study.
- Animals
How do we know what emotions animals feel?
Animal welfare researchers are studying the feelings and subjective experiences of horses, octopuses and more.
- Animals
A year after Australia’s wildfires, extinction threatens hundreds of species
As experts piece together a fuller picture of the scale of damage to wildlife, more than 500 species may need to be listed as endangered.
