Animals
Meet Swiftiephylus, an Australian bug named after Taylor Swift
Four newly described species of Australian plant bug have been named in honor of renowned recording artist Taylor Swift.
Animals
More Stories in Animals
- Animals
Could a whale swallow a person whole?
In the movie Whalefall, a sperm whale accidentally swallows a scuba diver. It’s technically possible, but unlikely to play out in real life.
- Animals
Winter work shows it really pays to be a smart mountain chickadee
By studying chickadee cognition in the wild, researchers learned smarter birds stay smart in old age, produce more young and have better gut bacteria.
- Paleontology
A choir of katydid ancestors filled the Jurassic rainforest with song
An analysis of sound-making structures on preserved wings reveals the mating calls of ancient Jurassic insects, re-creating part of an ancient soundscape.
- Paleontology
Was the ‘American cheetah’ a cheetah at all?
Ancient DNA confirms Miracinonyx trumani was more closely related to modern pumas than cheetahs and had a more varied diet than previously thought.
- Animals
These worms move faster when you give them less space
California blackworms can squeeze through narrow channels faster than they can wriggle across wide ones, a finding that may help with robot design.
- Health & Medicine
Your skin chemistry may affect which mosquitoes most want to bite you
Three species preferred different people based on their skin odor and bacteria. The findings could help make new microbe-based repellants.
- Animals
Monkeys hunt small animals when fruit is scarce
Capuchins hunt and eat small vertebrates more often as plant foods wane. The behavior may help us learn more about humans’ early dietary evolution.
- Paleontology
Once upon a time, insects had 24 legs
A many-legged oddball from long ago helps fill a major gap in the fossil record — and hints at how insects ended up with just six legs.
- Animals
Heat therapy for sick frogs lowers sperm levels
Scientists often use thermal treatment to combat fatal fungal infection in frogs, but it may come at a cost.
